One question is as following. What was your most difficult moment as a member of the band?

Band is a very challenging but satisfying experience. In order to get to those sweet moments of success, obstacles must be met and conquered. I, personally, would have to say my sophomore year of marching season was the most difficult challenge I had to face in my entire musical career. That summer, on some sticky August morning, I was informed that the thin mallets of my xylophone were to be replaced with the bulky rubber mallets of the bass drum. For the first time in three years, I was to play this bulky instrument. Not only play it but carry it on my shoulders in an ill-fitted harness with minimum padding for comfort. I was expected to march around in the unbearable heat while squinting through the glare off my glasses to read the music, trying to remember that the highest notes were mine and I was to hit them alternating strokes with my right and left hands. Right, left, right, left. All the while walking backwards in an alternate pattern in my feet. Left, right, left, right. Keep between Jania and Chris, keep my eyes on Shannon, Brendan, and Mr. Harden, keep track of which notes are mine. Nope, forget everything you’ve learnt so far. We’re not dividing the music anymore. Keeping it simple. Despite the fact that the beast (read: bass) drum was weighing me down and the music and coordinates were making me dizzy and the difficulty, I’m not going to say I disliked band or even the marching season. Because, despite it all, the stand tunes are pretty much worth it all.