Learning the Drill

After you make the band, you have to learn the drill. That happens at Band Camp, and despite the fact that the band is no longer affiliated with the military, Band Camp is a lot like boot camp.

Everyday from dawn until dusk, 13 to 14 hours a day, students are put through a grueling schedule of marching and rehearsing music in preparation for a public exhibition performance in one week.

Craig Cornish is the Associate Director of Bands. "When you have 300 people out there and you've got to get them all going in the same direction at the right time at the right moment, playing the correct thing, there has to be a lot of discipline to pull that off. But without the discipline, it would be mayhem, chaos. The amount of work and the amount of time these guys put in, especially early in the season band camp, I mean that's beyond military unless you're in actual combat or boot camp situation."

After all the work, the payoff is in the performance.

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