7 minute read
faces
Writing the Show
OSU band director pursues passion by leading Buckeyes
If Christopher Hoch had let early failure deter him from chasing his dreams, The Ohio State University Marching and Athletics Band wouldn’t look or sound the same as it does today.
Hoch, director of OSU Marching and Athletics Bands since 2015, was in the same shoes as the musicians he now directs. As a freshman trombonist, Hoch didn’t make the cut for the elite group of 228 marching and playing musicians, and called home sobbing.
“I wouldn’t be the person today if it had not been for that experience,” Hoch says.
Instead of giving up, Hoch doubled down on honing his trombone. He was involved in every musical opportunity at OSU, playing in jazz band, pep band and concert band.
“I think it taught me perseverance,” Hoch says. “It taught me how to stick with it, how to improve myself, how to become a better musician and how to become more in tune with my own physical needs.”
He’s also able to understand the experience of students who go through the same situation each year.
“The tryouts for Ohio State are an intense process,” Hoch says. “They were when I was in the band, and they are now. Having been through it myself both on the happy side of things and on the not-sohappy side of things, I can empathize with most of our students as they go through that process.”
A Musical Upbringing
Hoch developed his love of music earnestly. His mother played piano and taught music. Both of his parents were educators.
Hoch attended St. Paul Catholic School up until high school, when he attended Westerville City Schools.
“I wanted to attend Westerville North High School to go to a bigger school and be a part of a larger community,” he says. “My parents said, ‘Well, if you’re going to the big high school, you need to do something other than just go to class, so you need to pick something to be a part of. How about band?’”
He quickly fell in love with the marching band and music at Westerville North. As a graduating senior, he knew he wanted to make music a part of his life, but not necessarily as a career. He resisted his parents’ career suggestions, but after a year of practice and playing at OSU and getting as involved as he could, his passion for music was solidified.
GRAND OPENING Saturday, October 1st
COMING SOON!
delicious artisan chocolates, authentic Italian gelato, & decadent baked goods 20 S State St, Suite A, Westerville, OH 43081 SugarbeesChocolatier.com 20 S State St, Suite A SugarbeesFineConfections@gmail.comWesterville, OH 43081
Connect with us!
hwhite@cochlear.com go.oncehub.com/HWhite 216 287 2303
SugarbeesFineConfections@gmail.com
Don’t wait to take control of your hearing
Nearly 1 out of every 3 people over the age of 65 are a ected by hearing loss.¹ Hearing aids help many people by making the sounds they hear louder. Unfortunately, as hearing loss progresses, sounds need to not only be made louder, they need to be made clearer. Hearing implants may help give you that clarity, even in noisy environments.²
References
1. Who.int. WHO | 10 facts of deafness [Internet: Cited 10 Jun 2019]. 2. Hirschfelder A, Gräbel S, Olze H. The impact of cochlear implantation on quality of life: The role of audiologic performance and variables. Head Neck Surg. 2008 Mar;138(3): 357-362. Please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could a ect your outcome. Always read the instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information. Views expressed are those of the individual. Consult your health professional to determine if you are a candidate for Cochlear technology. ©Cochlear Limited 2022. All rights reserved. Hear now. And always and other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of Cochlear Limited or Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions AB. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. CAM-MK-PR-584 ISS1 JAN22
After his second year, Hoch auditioned for OSU’s School of Music. After being accepted, he decided he wanted to teach.
“I decided, well, if I’m going to do music, I’m going to be a teacher like Mom and Dad,” he says, “and realized very quickly that I had a passion and talent for that, too.”
Hoch earned master’s degrees in instrumental conducting and music education in 2002. He spent seven years as the director of bands at Hayes High School in Delaware before completing his Ph.D. of music education in 2012. At OSU, he served as assistant director for one year and associate director of the marching and athletic bands for two years before being chosen as interim director in 2015. After that year, he took on the official position as director.
Dots on Paper
Hoch is responsible for viral halftime shows performed at OSU, such as the “Tribute to Classic Video Games,” which he created for the 2012 homecoming game. He remembers being a band kid who would sit at home after rehearsals, putting dots on paper as he practiced writing his own drills. He studied band charts with fascination.
Dr. John Woods, the OSU band director during Hoch’s college years, took him on as a private student during his senior year, and later brought him on as a graduate assistant, helping him learn to design shows.
OSU has only one class – Marching Band Techniques, which Hoch now teaches – dedicated to show design. It was a rare thing, Hoch says, to gain the level of experience he did before his 2000 graduation with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and music education.
Occasionally, Hoch invites interested students to study drill writing with him. Graduate students are required to study show design and drilling writing, so Hoch works with them each year.
“It really is a sort of specialized thing that not everybody gets into unless they show an aptitude or an interest in it,” he says. “But when they are, boy, am I happy to share what I know with them.”
TBDBITL
The OSU Marching Band celebrates its 145th anniversary this year.
The brilliance of the OSU Marching Band, Hoch says, is its mixture of tradition and innovation. The band still performs staples: 1928’s ramp entrance, 1936’s Script Ohio, 1965’s rendition of “Hang on Sloopy.”
“Some of those great traditions that come along don’t happen unless you’re innovative,” Hoch says. “We always like to look back to our past, but also be inventive and creative in how we develop our future.”
Beyond the Shoe, Hoch has directed the OSU Marching Band in national and international performances.
In 2015, he took the band overseas to play before an NFL game at Wembley Stadium in London. They performed a segment called “The British Invasion” with the music and imagery of iconic British music groups and formations of London’s famous landmarks.
Another memorable moment for Hoch was the first trip to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2018, which turned out to be the coldest day in the history of the event. His first Rose Bowl trip, in January 2019, was yet another milestone, and he and the band were able to relive that experience with another trip to Pasadena in January 2022.
“I’m really proud of the Ohio State marching band and of what we’ve built in the Ohio State marching band,” Hoch says. “It really is a group of people from all walks of life. They come from all over the place to be with us because, like me when I was growing up … they fell in love with music.”
Claire Miller is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback is welcome at cmiller@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Build Live Be
Inspired
REMODEL | DESIGN | BUILD
CLEARYCOMPANY.COM 614.459.4000
HOME
BY THE CLEARY COMPANY
Day(s) in the life of the OSU marching band director
“The fall is very, very busy as you can imagine,” Hoch says. “The summer is a little more free, but there’s still plenty to do to prepare for the fall.”
Summer
Morning: Get up, exercise and “relax at home with the kiddos a little bit.” Off to work: Meetings, interviews, etc. Afternoon/evening: In the office preparing for the season Evening: Summer session band rehearsal
Fall
Mornings: In meetings or writing shows Afternoons: In rehearsals with the marching band Some nights: With athletic band “Then, it’s time to go to sleep and start the whole thing over the next day,” he says.
