TALK ON THE STREET
February 11, 2015
Miles touts 2015 recruiting efforts a success
February 11, 2015
There’s no doubt that Terrebonne Parish’s public high school bands sound good.
But until recently, they didn’t look as good as they could have.
Now, their visual images matches their tune as the Terrebonne School District has provided brand new band uniforms to its four high schools.
Costing more than $300,000, it had been more than a decade than the bands had received new uniforms, and District 2 school board member Gregory Harding calls it “money well spent.”
“A successful band program requires more discipline, hard work and talent than perhaps any program in the high school because they commit their time and talent,” district Superintendent Philip Martin said. “Our schools, our band programs, collectively, I’d put against any in the state of Louisiana. Our record speaks for itself because of the kids and the talented band directors that lead them.”
The new uniforms have been received with praise and thanks, according to South Terrebonne’s Million Dollar Band from Gator Land Director Billy James.
“I think they’re great. The kids really love them, and the parents do too. We can’t thank the school system and all the school board members enough for getting them for us. We really appreciate them getting us the uniforms,” James said.”… It just shows that they care about the band programs and they want us to look good – that they’re really proud of all the bands. I think it’s great.”
James said his students like the way the uniforms are designed, compared to the old versions, noting many qualities that just simply make them a better fit.
“They have snaps at the sleeves and at the bottom of the pants so they don’t need to be hemmed any more. You can just snap them in and iron them, and they’re done. The suspenders are elastic, so they fit a lot better.
They’re designed to fit the form of the student a lot better so the uniforms look a lot more sleek, more stylish,” explained the band director.
He added that the new hats fit his students’ heads a little bit better that the older versions.
“Comparing the new uniforms to the old ones, they are more comfortable, especially the pants. They are lighter. No sash and
no heavy jacket, new generation design,” said senior drum major and trumpet player Denny Quach.
But maybe the biggest positive of the new attire is the change in material, according to James. The old uniforms were thicker causing the band members to sweat more while performing outdoors. That, of course, can lead to odors.
“When you come back from a festival and they take them off, you can smell it in the band hall the next day. These are not like that,” James explained. “Probably the most important thing is this uniforms breathe better. They allow the air to pass through the uniform to keep the kids cooler and the kids really notice that immediately.”
The bands received their new uniforms in early November, and because of South Terrebonne’s successful football season, the Million Dollar Band from Gator Land was able to show off its new look in the school’s first round playoff win versus Lakeshore.
“They are really light and comfortable,” said senior field sergeant and trombone player Bryan LeCompte. “The straps don’t fall off of the shoulders like the old ones, and they are really easy to put on and take off.”
James hopes that the new uniforms will entice more students at all of the parish’s high schools to sign up for band.
“I think music is another way of gaining more intelligence. It’s something that they can belong to and work together as a team,” he said. “Just the whole act of being able to play notes and process information and work together with other people in the band to produce music and play music, I think that in itself is a great experience for the students.
“We do a lot of things with the school, participate in football games, travel to Disney, I think it’s just a great all around experience.”
Representatives from Terrebonne Parish’s four public school bands show off their new band uniforms at a School Board meeting.
The Terrebonne High School band blows out a tune during a Mardi Gras parade this past weekend. The Terrebonne Parish School District recently invested more than $300,000 to new band attire for area students.
