By Juliana Hoft
Staff Writer
Mira Costa’s Marching Mustangs scored the highest in their history last season. In order to improve their skills further, the student leaders will participate in a training program this summer sponsored by the Blue Devils marching band program.
The Blue Devils organization is one of the nation’s preeminent drum cores, winning 14 world championships. They hold several training programs for youth who take part in marching band year round.
“The Blue Devils offer young men and women between the ages of 7 and 21 quality educational and performance experiences in the areas of musical and dance performance. Founded in 1957, The Blue Devils’ objective is to develop personal character through challenging physical, emotional, mental and social activities while promoting the values of dedication, hard work, and commitment to a team effort,” courtesy bluedevils.org.
The prospective drum majors and other leaders of the Mira Costa Marching Band will attend a 3-day intensive camp from June 30th to July 2nd in Riverside, California. They will learn about the Blue Devils practice and how they achieve excellence on the field. The students will be trained in leadership and performance skills that will benefit the marching band program as a whole.
“From this experience I want to become a better leader in the marching band setting. This next year will be different than any other year I’ve been in the band because I will be a senior, and I will have a different leadership position. The leadership would really benefit from this camp by watching the Blue Devils rehearse, and in turn trying to incorporate their rehearsal techniques for our next season,” junior Danielle Jung said.
At the camp, nationally-renowned leadership experts will teach the Costa students. Some of the teachers will be alumni or current members of the Blue Devils. There will also be instructors from various prestigious and musically advanced colleges around the country, such as UCLA. The campers will attend five separate sessions, each focusing on a different skill that will teach them how to be great leaders.
“I think the camp will give us a centralized method of leading the group, so that we can all work cohesively and efficiently. People have different methods of teaching and controlling their sections in our marching band, so learning time-tested leadership methods from a professional drum corps will improve the synergy within the band,” junior Jeff Mohan said.
The Mira Costa marching band has watched training videos of the Blue Devils for inspiration during past marching seasons. According to Mr. Carlson, the camp is an invaluable experience that someone can’t put a price on. He is trying to get as many people as he can to go and participate in the camp.
“Last year, we were able to achieve so much success because of the trust people had in our changes that thankfully turned out positive; these changes will continue to make direct transformations in our performances. This camp will further enhance our chance for success,” band director Joel Carlson said.
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