Strided calmly through this sea of activity, once in a while pulling aside a studentīy late afternoon, it was time for the entire band to assemble on the field and work Up on the roof of the structure, Greg Martin,Īssociate director of bands, called out commands through a bullhorn.
Overīy the Matlack parking structure, the drum line worked furiously on a long groove In the only patch of shade in sight, the color guard tossed their flags skyward. " Okay, that's a lot better, next we're going to be working on your shoulders," shouted the coordinator.
Players marched eight steps from one yard line to the next, then turned around and The tuba section, whose instruments were lined up waiting on the sidelines. In another area, an undergraduate student coordinator worked on body mechanics with The field, an undergraduate section leader repeatedly led the clarinets through aįew measures of Stevie Wonder's Superstition. It was a hot and steamy Friday afternoon when I shadowed Yozviak. Yozviak faces to ensure that 324 musicians and color guard members stay in step and They make it lookĮasy in Farrell Stadium but behind the scenes you quickly realize the myriad challenges That the Golden Rams Marching Band put on at home football games. Not DC-9s and 737s, but brass, woodwinds and percussion that he's pushing to landīand practice looks nothing like the polished, precise and incomparable performances Make split-second decisions in ever-changing conditions. Much like an air traffic controller, Yozviak needs to stay cool under pressure and
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As I watched him in action at a recent rehearsal at Matlackįields, I was reminded of an old movie about air traffic controllers called Pushing Tin. If Andrew Yozviak wasn't WCU's marching band director, he'd probably make a greatĪir traffic controller.