On Friday January 24th I had the pleasure of getting to see the Marching Virginians perform as part of the Honor Band-a-rama, which is a concert of various Virginia Tech ensembles performing for the high schoolers participating in the Virginia Tech Honor Band. All the groups that performed at the concert were amazing, but I was absolutely blown away by the performance of the Band-a-rama edition of the MVs that night. I’m envious of all the parents and fans who get to watch us every week because we do sound pretty dang good. I am so used to only seeing pictures and watching videos of our performances, so getting to watch the MVs in person was surreal.
Getting to watch the MVs is a different experience than performing with the ensemble, both being equally amazing; Source: Parents’ Page
Duncan reflects the audience’s excitement upon seeing the tubas run to the front of the group for the Hokie Pokie; Source: Ashlyn McDonald
The Band-a-rama Marching Virginians may have numbered far fewer than the usual 330 (I believe there were around 100 MVs performing), but their energy was tangible from the whole ensemble. I think my biggest takeaway from getting to watch the ensemble live is all the small pieces that come together to form the big picture. Every section has their moment to shine with the melody or some sort of solo, as well as their particular set of horn flashes and dance moves. Being in the way back with the rest of the drumline, I miss out on so much of the entertaining theatrics of the MVs. I also think sometimes we take for granted how good we may look and how melodious we may sound, because I enjoyed the performance in a totally different way than ones I have performed in.
Then I loved getting to see the audience’s reaction to all the different songs. I love seeing people clapping along to Tech Triumph, people dancing along to the Hokie Pokie, and people shooting me glances as I instinctively drummed along to all the songs on my lap (sorry everyone!). The high schoolers seemed in awe of the ensemble, which is great because now they will hopefully want to join the group! Seeing the audience have such a positive experience really puts into perspective everything that the MVs represent for the university and the greater Virginia Tech community.
Remember to enjoy the moment before it passes; Source: Carla Neigh
So to all the MVs, and really anyone part of a musical ensemble: take a moment to stop and smell the roses. I know how hard we all work on musicality, spinning, marching, and everything else; but take a second to appreciate what we are putting out there for the public. I could tell how much the audience enjoyed the concert, and I want all of us MVs to have that feeling at some point too.