CULLMAN – Last night, the Cullman High School (CHS) band hosted the 33rd Annual Cullman County Band Exhibition, with Vinemont, Good Hope, West Point, Fairview, Holly Pond, Hanceville, Cold Springs and Cullman sending their bands to showcase to the community their halftime shows that are being performed this football season.
Amber Gentry, mother of two CHS band members, talked about the fact that the annual event is an exhibition, not a competition. “They’re not competing against each other, but it’s a good way for people who have multiple family members in the band at different schools to see them all at one time. Plus, it’s a way for the bands to see what other bands in the county are doing,” stated Gentry. She went on to talk about how the schools “hardly play each other anymore,” and that events like this are ways that “the band community can come together and encourage, and brag, on each other about how great that they’ve done.”
Gentry says she is glad that the bands are able to go to events like this because she grew up in the band and she recalled it being, “some of the best years of my life.” She also encouraged her children to join the band for that reason.
Maggie Darnell, CHS band member, echoed Gentry, “It’s not a competition, it’s more of a friendly show where everyone can show what they can do because we never get to see each other’s shows so I think that events like this are really cool.”
And how do the bands prepare for an event like this? “We practice, we put dedication and hard work into what we do, and we still bring a competitive spirit for a friendly competition,” said Darnell. “But we strive to not be too competitive. We’re all in band; it’s just like a giant family in Cullman County.”
Darnell described how being in band has impacted her life. “The Cullman band program teaches a student discipline and how to prepare for general things in life. It’s treated like a job and it’s hard work, but it teaches us those valuable lessons.”
Suzzane Maxey, CHS color guard captain and band secretary, agreed with Darnell regarding what it takes to prepare for the annual exhibition. “It takes a lot, a lot of practice. In the past week we’ve practiced between 20-30 hours.” Maxey also described how attending past band exhibitions impacted her. “Watching the (color) guards in middle school made me want to join the guard in high school and I still enjoy watching other guards preform.”
Mary Hovater, of the Cullman Band Booster Club, and former school board candidate, mentioned the financial benefits to hosting this event. “We’re sharing responsibilities with the county schools. They’re working the gates so they get to keep all of the gate money so it’s beneficial for all of the schools; it’s extra for everybody.” The revenue earned by the Cullman Band Booster Club is going toward new band uniforms for CHS. “Right now, we’re trying very hard to buy new uniforms. We’ve had these for about 10 years and the ones at middle school are almost 20 years old. They’re in desperate need of the hand-me-down uniforms. We’re currently working on raising the last $15,000 we need by December so we can get them in by April. The deadline to order would be in April.”
Hovater also got to comment on her life post-election, “It’s been busy like it always is; I’m always involved in lots of activities. During football season we’re always on the go and there are always booster things going on.”
Kelly Copeland, parent of a Cullman Middle School band member, said, “I am thoroughly proud of their performance. They practiced for many hours surpassing my expectations.” Copeland went on to talk about CMS Band Director Linda Bean. “She is able to mold students who have never picked up an instrument until last year, like my daughter, Haley Copeland, into a band to be reckoned with. It’s not just the students that are learning. We are learning along with them and you get a new appreciation for what these children do every day.”
Copeland was impressed with the large turnout. “I couldn’t ever pick out one band that’s better than the other and you’ve got to realize that these are children; they have worked tremendously hard and they all deserve a round of applause.”
Bean was very proud of her band’s performance and said, “It’s very important for the kids to see other performing groups. It’s good for them to meet band students from other schools because they can make a lot of friendships and meet students that have the same interests as them. I would like to give special thanks to all of the band parents from all of the different schools for what they do to help us provide these opportunities for our students.”
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Check out our special Cullman County bands issue below:
The Cullman Tribune 09-15-2016 Bands Only by cullmansense on Scribd
