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| Community Marching Band Set To Perform At Parade |
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By
Tricia Cortez
On Monday nights,
Javier Tapia gets ready for the 120 people who will get out of their cars
and file into the parking lot at John F. Kennedy High School in San Antonio’s
west side.
Carrying trumpets, tubas, drum snares, flutes, clarinets and any other band instrument imaginable, members of the month-old Alamo City Community Marching Band are about to practice for their debut in Laredo, Tapia’s hometown, at the Washington’s Birthday Celebration Parade on Feb. 23. Tapia, a 1979 graduate of Nixon High School, manages and directs the infant band and its members who range in age from 18 to 72. Their motto is “Too Good to be Through.” “This is the only band of its kind in Texas, “co-founder and drum major Fred E. Diaz said. Only three cities in the country have community marching bands: St. Petersburg (Fla.), Portland (Ore.) and now San Antonio, Tapia explained. “I’ve kicked the idea around for 8 years, but no one would really come forward to conduct. No one took over baton and said let’s do it,” Diaz said. “Shortly after (the terrorist attacks of) Sept. 11, when the president and other key leaders indicated that people needed to do volunteer work to heal the country, I thought that was my calling and said let’s do it. So, I contacted Mr. Tapia.” As board chairman of the Edgewood Independent School District Fine Arts Academy Foundation, Diaz came to know Tapia, who is band director at Kennedy High School and a mariachi instructor for the school district. When Tapia agreed to Diaz’ request, invitations were sent out and ads were placed in the newspaper. On Jan. 7, a total of 57 people showed up for the first rehearsal. Five weeks later, the band had nearly tripled to 125 and continues to grow. Tapia explained his theory for the enthusiastic outburst. “San Antonio has a world class symphony and a professional municipal band, but there was no avenue for people who had played at one point and wanted to pick it up again,” he said. “We hope to build to 300-400 members.” He noted that members travel from as far away as Devine, Texas, and other parts of the country to the west side high school. “Eventually, we want to take the band to the Rose Parade,” Diaz said excitedly. Both men say the only requirement for the band are being at least 18 years old, having some kind of marching band experience and wanting to have fun with music. For the Laredo parade, Diaz explained that the band is rehearsing the “march ‘Bravura’ to satisfy the military marching style of the more mature person. And then, we will go into ‘Louie, Louie’ for the younger people. We have blended two styles and have come up with San Antonio’s newest sensation.” The band has also begun working on its own fight song, the national anthem and George Benson’s “On Broadway.” “We’re also working on Latin flavored tunes, like Ricky Martin’s ‘Cup of Life,’ the theme song for the 1998 World Cup,” Diaz said, humming the song’s refrain, “Here we go! Ale, Ale, Ale! Go, go, go! Ale, Ale, Ale!” Tapia said the biggest challenge of directing this motley crew has been the age difference and blending the sounds of those with basic abilities “to our more proficient members. But, it has not been hard because everyone has come with a fresh attitude, and they are having fun.” “My biggest fear was that everyone would show up with a trumpet,” he added. “Ironically, we have correct instrumentation with enough tubas and trombones and so on.” He added that 75 to 100 band members should make it south to Laredo next Saturday. Tapia looks forward to playing in his hometown once again. “At Nixon, I was in the marching band and stage band. I was pretty decent, so I think they should remember me,” he teased. After getting his music degree from Texas A&I in Kingsville, the trumpet player made his way to San Antonio in 1991 after teaching in Benavides for five years. He plays professionally in the area and “digs playing anything from big band to mariachi.” ---end of article--- |
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