Reflections 2008
On behalf of Dr. Rick Good, Dr. Jon Woods, Mr. Scott Lang, the
band
staff, the guard staff, and the staff of MUSIC TOURS UNLIMITED/MUSIC
FESTIVALS, we
wanted to say thank you to all of the students who once again truly lived up to the
motto, "the more you give, the more you get!" Thank you for making
the third Macy's Great American Marching Band very special. You
have once again raised the bar tremendously for the 2009 band. Your
spirit, attitude, enthusiasm, and work ethic made rehearsals run quickly
and efficiently and made performance day spectacular! As you look
back on this experience, I hope that you can be proud of what you
accomplished in just a short amount of time.
To the
parents of these wonderful and talented young men and women, thank you
for your support and for allowing your children to participate and
providing the necessary funds for their trip. To the band
directors, thank you for what you did every day to help prepare the
students to get to New York. Their musicianship and preparedness
was evident from your day to day teaching. To the administration, thank you for
approving the trip and supporting your school's music programs.
And to the community, we know that you are proud of these students.
They are not only wonderful and talented musicians, they are also
wonderful people! Many of you helped sponsor these young people
with financial assistance, and on their behalf, we say thank you.
A very gracious thank you is extended to our wonderful chaperones.
Words are not enough to express our gratitude for all that you did to take care
of your assigned students and duties. For those of you who returned this year, thank
you for two wonderful years and for helping us provide continuity. We hope we will have the opportunity to work
with you again in the near future. And a special thank you to our
nurse. Not only did she take care of the students when
needed, she pitched in and helped wherever help was needed.
We also need to thank our partners for helping to make
this event and band a success. Once again, the band, guard and dancers all
looked fantastic in the wonderful uniforms provided by the BAND HALL.
Keith, you and your staff are so wonderful to work. Thank you for
the wonderful quality that you give us with your uniforms. Thank you!
Jupiter and Mapex, thank you for providing outstanding brass and percussion instruments.
These sections not only looked great but sounded wonderful as
well. The Quantum Series is outstanding and great quality!
Clyde Morrison and his staff at Gadsden Music, thank you! Thank you
for taking care of all of the new brass and percussion instruments that were
sent to us from Jupiter and Mapex. Thank you VIC FIRTH for providing the mallets and
sticks for the drum line and to SABIAN for providing those wonderful,
crisp-sounding cymbals! Special thanks to REMO for
providing all of the drum heads. Thank you Glaceau for providing us
the bottled vitamin water that kept the students and the staff from
dehydrating. We appreciate all that you that you do!
The third installment of the Macy's Great American Marching Band
has continued to raised the
standard for the other Macy's Bands to follow. Once again, we are
all grateful to each and every one of you. We hope that this will
be a memory that will last a life time! We wish you all the very
best of luck in everything you do!
Best Wishes,
Dennis Rhoads, President
NOTES FROM
MACY'S, STUDENTS &
PARENTS..........................
Here are some comments from Wesley
Whatley of Macy's, the members and their families of
The Macy's Great American
Marching Band as they reflect on their experience. As they are
submitted we will add them as we reflect back on this wonderful
experience. We have not included full names for
security reasons (except from Wesley and Scott).
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Hey Dennis-
Thanks for your kind note. We here at Macy's feel the same way. The
group has surpassed our expectations and continues to fill a very
important role in our Macy's band program. With an ever present
importance placed on representing the entire country in our event, the
Macy's Band does so with a great sound and the musical flare our fans
have come to expect from the Macy's band program.
Thanks to you and your team for all your year-round efforts to make this
a continued success. Very much looking forward to what we can create
in 2009. Let's get it started early in the new year!
Until then, enjoy the holidays - and talk soon!
ww
wesley whatley
creative manager
macy's parade & entertainment group
11 penn plaza, 11th fl
nyc, ny 10001
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Michael P. and I (his
mom) just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of ours hearts for the
greatest week. Michael said he had the best time of his life. We are so
grateful for everything you all did to make this such a wonderful
experience for the kids. Michael was very well taken care of and I am
very appreciative of that. This was an experience of a lifetime for him.
I was there Tuesday thru Friday and attended the dinner on Thursday
evening. The meal was great and the kids seemed to have a great time. I
know Michael did. I also had a wonderful time there that night.
Our band director was
there to see the parade and our assistant band director was there as a
chaperone and thought it was very well handled also. I thought the kids
did a great job on Thursday and am very proud of them all. Words are
hard to find but know that we will never forget you all and what
wonderful people you all are. Thank you again.
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Thank you so much for the opportunity to be with my niece
for the week. Believe it or not, I actullay enjoyed all the hard
work and sleepless nights. I may just take you up on the offer
next year.....we will have to see. Thanks again and tell everyone
to have a Happy Holiday!!! Desiree W.
Desiree served as one of our chaperones. Thank you Desiree for
all of your hard work as well. We hope you will be able to join us
again next year!
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From Scott Lang........................... |
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Hey Guys:
I hope that this email finds you rested, relaxed and a
little relieved...
I just wanted to thank you once again for allowing me to
be a part of the Macy's Great American Marching Band. Watching
the group "parade" across my television screen gave me an inkling of the
pride you must feel having put this together from scratch. The band
played and marched wonderfully and certainly lived up to their billing
as an "All-Star" group of young people.
Beyond the performance, you gave 250 young people a life
changing experience which they will never forget. Years from now, when
they are grown adults sitting around a Thanksgiving table they will
regale their children and their children's children with their
experience marching in this wonderful American Holiday tradition. This
is your legacy as an organization, and as people. Please know that the
thousands of hours that you have invested into this experience has
yielded dividends which may not be fully known or understood, but are
real none the less.
Listed below are some of the feedback emails I have
received. I share these with you so that you have a glimpse into what
some of the young people thought of the event. Will you please pass
along my best wishes and congratulations to your entire team for a job
well done.
If there is anything I can do to be of service, please
let me know, and if you would like to me to hold the date for next year,
I would be honored to once again be a part of this exceptional
organization.
With the greatest of sincerity,
Scott Lang Leadership
505 South Camellia Drive
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Dear Mr. Lang,
Two days ago I returned from NYC after an amazing week preparing for and
marching in the Macy's Great American Marching Band on Thanksgiving. It
was an incredible experience where I worked with highly qualified and
wonderful directors, excited and enthusiastic students, and learned so
much about music, marching, and life that I did not expect. Mr. Lang,
everything you said made perfect sense. Maybe it's because you are
relatable, or that the things you spoke about were familiar to us as
band members, but really, when I take your statements out of "marching
context" it is still perfectly applicable to the rest of the world. I
have never met someone with such passion for what they do, or so much
confidence that they push those around them to open their eyes to the
possibilities that could be made realities. Your honesty was just what
the doctor ordered. In my band program, you are not required to march to
participate in the curricular band classes, and my director always makes
a point to the upperclassmen and student leaders that we must give 150%
if we expect the volunteers to stay, and to receive even 50% effort in
return. Sometimes, it is disheartening because many members do not enjoy
marching, but still come for whatever reason, and try to bring others
down to join them in apathy. After hearing you speak, I hope I can
instill more enthusiasm into my program with the tools you have given
us, and hopefully have a more successful season next year. It would be a
Godsend for you to speak to our band, because I know they have tons more
potential than to just be a "semi-competitive" band. I know it. They
have the talent, and our directors are so focused on making everyone the
best they can be, it's just getting individuals to want to strive for
better than "finished", better than adequate. At our final competition,
held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne, our drumline and
auxiliary was awarded third place in our division in the marching
category, and our whole band went wild! They were excited about the
success, and it was the greatest indicator of the want to do great more,
I just don't think that many of them believe in our ability to achieve
greatness. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you are an incredible
inspiration, and the world has a lot to learn from people like you. You
give ALL of yourself, with no guarantee that the kids you speak to will
take what you present to heart. Well, I promise you Mr. Lang, there were
more Emily's than Bruce's in that amphitheater in New Jersey, and we all
appreciated the time and knowledge you shared. Thank you so much again,
and God Bless you, your wife, and son.
-Liv H.
p.s. I'll be passing along your name to my director, maybe we'll see
you in Chicago next year :]
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Dear Mr. Lang,
This is my first time with the Macy's Great American Marching Band. I'm
a Sophomore Saxophonist [Bari is my main, I do Tenor in this Band, and
Alto on the side.. I plan on majoring on Saxophone at either University
of Delaware, West Chester University, or East Stroudsburg University.
I may not have enough money to come back again next year, so I'm
extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to hear you speak
tonight.
I had the opportunity to go to Drum Major Academy at West Chester
University this summer. I have a 40 page notebook of everything George
N. Parks and Dr. Tim said about leadership and life in general. When I
get home, I'm copying my notes from your seminar into that notebook. My
band home isn't very disciplined [it's a volunteer band], and I'm hoping
to bring this information back to them. Hopefully, I will make Drum
Major for this next season [it's been my dream since I was seven, when
my brother joined Band].. If I do, I want to have bonding sessions after
practice and Band Camp and teach everything that you, Dr. Tim, and Mr.
Parks taught me. Your words truly changed my outlook on life, and I want
to get my Band more motivated.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you so much for speaking to us. By
impacting my life, you influenced me to impact 60+ of my friends back
home who are in dire need of the motivation.
- Kelsey V.
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Dear Mr. Lang,
I wanted to thank you so very much for taking the time to come and
talk to us at Macy's. You came and talked to my school at Vestavia, but
unfortunately I was unable to attend that seminar. Actually you went to
Hoover, but my band was there as well. My band director is Jerrel
Horton. Mr. Lang, you are truly an inspiration to him and to all of us.
Mr. Horton uses your quotes all the time in class and that is what I
believe has gotten us through this year so far and I, too, use your
quotes. I am honored that I not only got to hear you once but twice in
NYC. Thanks for all that you did to motivate and help all of us kids.
Thanks once again Mr. Lang!
Sincerely,
Rebecca B.
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Dear... Mr.Scott Lang:
I really felt... obliged to come up and talk to you after the session
but you were already being attacked by a mob so I thought I'd write
instead. I feel really motivated by leadership seminars and always feel
like I can go home and do all I can to help my band... but I constantly
have conflicting thoughts. I went to the Vivace leadership + band camp
in West Chester, PA this past summer and was spoken to by Dr. Tim
Lautzenheiser and I felt so ready to take on the troubles of my band.
When I got there though, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I have
the skills to better myself but I'm not that good at paying it forward.
I attempt to fix a formation for example but all I get is "Punk, you
can't tell me what to do." (*cough* actually I can but..) and "Who says
you're right?" I'm not sure if I'm in a safe enough position (physically
or emotionally) to get serious and tell them what they need to hear. (or
rather, what I truly believe is what they need to hear.) Nor am I in a
high enough position in the band. (I am/was woodwind captain and
woodwinds are always perfect so I had nothing to fix with them. They
listened to me! :D) So to the contradiction, if one thinks you can't
make anyone do anything, all you can do is better yourself then how do
you help the other person win? If they aren't willing to take my
help, what can I do? That sounds like a silly question which seems to
have the obvious answer of "nothing." I guess what I'm asking is, what
do I do if I'm faced with a Bruce? (haha, he's male.) And the problem
with my band is that none of the Bruce's leave! Why do people
consistently come back even when they aren't willing to give the effort
and are aware of how stupid an activity marching band is? (hehe) They
also like to point it out a lot. Anyway... my thoughts don't feel
complete but that's ok.. it's late, I should be asleep... (because we're
crazy and waking up at 6!! At least it's Monday tomorrow, a normal
school day.)
By the way, a funny thing I thought you might want to know, I could
understand you from the beginning because I have a friend who speaks
almost as fast as you were. Except... when she's not talking she's
laughing (no time for air)
I'm also a tenor/clarinet player if you were wondering. And I don't lick
my reed once I squeak!!... I wipe it dry first, /theeen/ I lick it. ;P
-Melody A.
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I want to thank you for such a great experience. I am the brass section
leader in my high school and I am always looking for ways to help
improve my leadership skills. Over the summer, our student leaders are
sent to Drum Major Academy. While at DMA, I had the privilege to attend
several of Dr. Tim's leadership seminars. I look forward to applying
what I have learned from both seminars to help our band and my life in
general, a success. Thank you for your sacrifice to help us. Noah L.
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| Hello Mr. Lang. I can honestly say that
your seminar was THE ABSOLUTE best influence |
| on my life and I am so thankful that u
came on the first night that we were there or else I do not think I
would have done as well as |
| I did. Thank you so much for
everything you have taught me. It hit me hard and I promise that
from that day forward I will give |
| everything I have towards everything I
do. Thank you for steering me farther into the right direction. |
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| My dreams are to major in college in the
education and performance fields of music and West Chester University or
at Auburn. |
| Now that I have heard your words of
wisdom and brilliant advice I am glad to say that I have applied that
not to only my music |
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but my life. Once again thank you for all of
you help. |
| From, Jeremy M. |
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| Dear Mr. Lang, |
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| I just wanted to voice to you my
appreciation for what you do. I just wanted to voice to you my
appreciation for what you |
| do. I just wanted to voice to you
my appreciation for what you do. You showed such an enthusiasm,
when you spoke to us |
| and even though there were hundreds of
other people in the room i felt as if you were only speaking to me. (I
honestly know |
| you were not.) I think that the
Macy's experience has changed me, and you were a part of this change.
The change is a |
| mind-set, I know that there are so many
people who are lazy and try to take the easy way out and those people
would |
| always frustrate me. However, I
know now that the truth to making that situation change is to be a
positive example. |
| I play trumpet in my high school bands
and I am debating on singing or playing trumpet in college next year.
I plan on |
| going to this small fine arts college in
Decature, Illinois its called Millikin University and double majoring in
comericial music |
| and music business. The point to
my story is that I am also not worried about college (as much) anymore
because I know at |
| this moment I am planning on doing
something that will make me happy. I love how you realize that
your "true calling" later |
| in life and was able to just do it.
I know that because you were able to, that if I change my mind then I
can do it too. |
| In other words just keep what you are
doing, because your words have meaning. |
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| Musically Yours, |
| Lauren L. |
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| P.S. Maybe someday our paths will cross
again, but until then I will always remember to give all I have until I
have nothing |
| left. O' and by the way I do not know
if other bands have this but in my bands trumpets are also know as the
pencil thieves, |
| and I can safely admit I am a klepto...
so feel free to use that in any trumpet analogies. |
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