Frank Couch
Vestavia Hills majorettes and flag corps practice inside the gym Monday afternoon July 25, 2016.
When the Vestavia Hills High School band’s summer camp kicked off on July 25, the band — comprised of 190 instrumentalists, 33 color guard members, 23 dancers and nine majorettes — had to face the heat.
Summer practice is a critical time as the band prepares for fall performances, but temperatures hovering near triple digits require extra precautions. The band stays hydrated, taking water breaks every 15 to 20 minutes. Tents are pitched to help shield students from the elements, and Jerell Horton, director of bands for VHHS, is always watching the thermometer — and the clock.
“We pay close attention to the time that we spend outside when the temperature rises,” he said.
A nurse is on hand at every rehearsal, and parents, too — some of whom bring ice cold treats.
“We have parents who donate popsicles to the band, and we have them from time to time as well,” Horton said.
Horton is entering his 11th year as director of bands at VHHS, a job he said he relishes.
“It is exactly what I should be doing,” he said. “It is challenging, sometimes frustrating, but all of the time rewarding.”
Before coming to VHHS exclusively, Horton was an assistant director of bands at VHHS as well as the assistant director at Pizitz Middle School. The band’s year and their summer rehearsals begin with the start of band camp, and the band typically rehearses from 1 to 4 p.m., breaks for dinner, and meets back from 6 to 10 p.m. — their own version of two-a-days.
“We use this schedule so that the evening block is much cooler,” Horton said.
Band camp lasts about two weeks and focuses on marching, music fundamentals and learning the halftime show’s music and marching.
“By the first football game we would like to have learned at least half of the fall production with a goal of learning the full production by the third football game,” Horton said.
Songs the band works on during camp are numbers they will use throughout the fall — tunes played in the stands at football games as well as on the turf for halftime shows. This year’s fall production is called “Four” and will highlight music that reflects the seasons of the year, he said.
“We are super excited about this production, and we think [fans] will like it as well,” Horton said. “We will feature the music of Earth, Wind and Fire, Louis Armstrong, DeBarge and even some classical music as well.”
He said being selected for the band’s auxiliary groups — the color guard, dance line and majorettes — is not an easy feat.
“It is pretty competitive,” Horton said.
Instrumentalists are trained through middle school band programs before they arrive at VHHS, he said.
“In a time when many bands do not have all of these auxiliary groups, I am proud that our groups work together to create an amazing product,” Horton said. “We design our shows so that all auxiliary members can be the visual representation of our music.”
The band is ever evolving, Horton said, staying on pace with cutting-edge enhancements.
“Musically, we are trying to enhance our live music with recorded sounds as well as amplified instruments that you may not normally notice in a halftime show,” he said.
The music, Horton said, is custom arranged, and their visual presentation — all marching maneuvers, auxiliary choreography and coordination — is created by Horton and his staff. It all crescendos when the band takes the field for football games.
“It is something that is very hard to describe,” he said. “A VHHS football game is the largest community gathering that we have, and we have them once a week for 10 weeks, so it is pretty awesome to be able to perform for our community as often as we do.”
Even after band camp ends in August, the band continues to practice during football season three days a week from 3:45 to 6 p.m. It is all in an effort to uphold the band’s strong tradition, Horton said.
“I believe the Rebel Marching Band has a tradition of great school spirit and football support in the stadium,” he said. “Our band is a huge family, and each section of the band really has their own set of traditions.”
