ADDRESS Competitive Marching Band - It Enhances The Future Victor J. Colaianni, III victorcoly3@juno.com The competitive marching band idiom is on the rise once again in many states. In some areas, competitive programs actually outweigh most athletic teams in being not only successful competitively, but also in creating the future leaders in the business, education, and even political arenas. This is not to say that athletic programs aren't beneficial; nor does it say that athletic programs are not turning out future leaders. Most competitive marching programs are the type where everyone participates. Auditions are not a requirement, and students are not necessarily required to go through any type of filtering process in order to remain a part of the group. In short, no one usually "rides the bench." This approach allows all involved to grow not only as musicians, but also as individuals. There are many participating in competitive marching band who also are put into positions of leadership. These young people may not have had the opportunity to be in leadership positions had they not chosen to participate in the activity. Giving leadership responsibilities to certain young people allows them to explore uncharted territories personally, and it also goes far preparing them for their futures in college, and subsequently the "real world" of employment and other areas. Dealing With Differences Involvement in the band activity also teaches a great lesson. How to deal with differences regarding culture, personalities, socio-economic backgrounds, and in some cases, religious differences. In a survey conducted by this writer, many inter city marching programs bring together several different cultures and more or less forces them to get along. In to particular programs; one in Chicago and the other in Canton, OH, many students who would never have had personal contact with each other outside of marching band turned out to become some of the closest of friends due to their involvement in the activity. This type of interaction according to one school administrator has lead to a significant decline in the number of disciplinary incidents he has had to deal with due to friction between different cultures. Goal Setting / Prioritizing The competitive marching band activity also goes far in teaching young people the "art" of goal setting and prioritizing. These two elements are key one within the business world today. In an interview with three former students of mine who participating in competitive marching band, all three were in agreement that had they not participated in the activity they would not be where they were in the business world today. Two of the three are corporate attorneys, and the third is in an upper management positions with a well known telecommunications company. There's little doubt that more and more business leaders are looking for potential employees who have taken part in some sort of fine arts program within their schooling. This was most evident in talking with an executive vice president of a major Ohio financial institution who said that "Involvement in the fine arts, whether it be band, choir, or even an art class shows me that an individual is willing to think 'outside of the box' and can bring a lot of creative ideas to the table." "Thick Skin" There is also the element of dealing with success and failures within the competitive marching band activity. In a day in age where the "popular" kids may not do the band thing, or in the age where some people have a "winning is everything" attitude; the marching band activity creates a persona in the young people involved to help deal with the obstacles that come with not winning every contest, or not performing up to their ability. This is an invaluable character trait that many youth of today lack. Where Do We Go From Here? With many school districts and elected officials looking to cut the budget first in the areas of fine arts, there have been many competitive high school programs chopped or on the chopping block the past decade. Many very successful programs no longer exist at the expense of having a mediocre athletics program. I say we need to let the school administrations, school boards, and elected officials know what value a competitive (or any) marching band program holds in a school. The school board and local elected officials need to be exposed to what competitive marching band really is. They need to see the work and dedication that goes into a program. They need to realize that the kids involved not only represent the school when the travel town to town and state to state to compete, but they also represent their cities and communities. Suffice to say that most programs do much to put their community "on the map" as much or more so than any politician, athletic team, or tourist attraction.