Culture
Culture Editor: Katelin Pompa – xzgw@iup.edu Lead Culture Writer: Haley Brown – tbfx@iup.edu
(Marty Weaver/The Penn)
The IUP marching band getting ready to perform Saturday at George P. Miller Stadium.
IUP marching band performs concert in Miller Stadium MARTY WEAVER Staff Writer zglz@iup.edu @ThePennIUP
IUP’s marching band, The Legend, performed a Homecoming 2020 show at 3 p.m. Saturday in George P. Miller Stadium. The show was live streamed on IUP’s Facebook and YouTube pages, the latter of which saw around 400 viewers at the time. The stream began with a prerecorded video of the marching band director, Dr. David Martynuik, discussing how the band adapted to COVID-19. “Every play from my usual book of band directing is shot, so everything’s a challenge this year,” Martynuik said. “However, given the challenges of this year, it was fun to write drills with the limitations that follow the social distancing guidelines.” Normally, marching band shows are 8 minutes, but it seemed silly to livestream only 8 minutes, he said. So, he designed a show with “marching elements” to be more of a “collage-style” program.
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“Hopefully, at the end of the 40 minutes, people just enjoy the fact that music can make them feel good,” Martynuik said. The stream also featured two assisting officers from the band. “...[In] a lot of our drill[s], we’re spaced out a lot more than we’re used to, certain drill moves that are kind of staples in the band haven’t really been used this year because… [we’re] abiding by CDC guidelines, but it’s obviously better than not being able to have band at all,” Isaiah Buzdygon (music) said. “The things I’m most looking forward to for the performance is definitely to play ‘Amazing Grace’ at the end,” Mikayla Vangelo (music) said. “Obviously, to be able to be on the field and perform in general is exciting, but to play ‘Amazing Grace’ for pretty much our last time” After the video, the stream cut back to the field, where the band came marching into a simple drumbeat. Every member of the band and color guard wore a mask onto the field. The structure of the show
was more like a concert than a traditional marching band show. Martynuik spoke at a microphone before every song to introduce the new pieces. “The music and drill are deliberately retro,” Martynuik said after the opening statements. The first piece was a traditional march, “Orange Bowl” by Henry Fillmore. While introducing the next two pieces, Martynuik made an interesting analogy. “The show for today was planned much the way you might plan the menu for a family reunion picnic, where everybody brings their favorite dish, and somehow, they all go together, probably because the various dishes are comfort food,” he said. “Comfort food is just that: it provides comfort, a reminiscence or nostalgia for good times. Music has that same power, perhaps even a greater power to connect us, especially in ways that make us nostalgic for friends and past events. “So, sit back, relax and enjoy our presentation today” Next came “The Star-Spangled Banner” followed by the first
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movement of “Symphony in C” by Igor Stravinsky. Then came “Marietta’s Lied” by Erich Korngold; afterwards, the drumline performed a solo piece. All members of drumline wore masks for the duration of the show. The drumline marched to the front of the field, and after the solo, some members took their places behind a set of steel drums. “As I mentioned earlier, part of today’s program is to provide some comfortable, feel-good feelings, and it’s tough not to be in a good mood when you’re listening to steel drums,” Martynuik said. With that, he introduced Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” featuring the Steel Band, which was directed by Dr. Michael King. Martynuik introduced the next piece with a look into the future of the band. Since 2020 is the 99th anniversary of The Legend, next year will be its centennial. “In conjunction with the alumni office, we will be hosting the 100th anniversary celebration of the IUP marching band,” he said. More than 650 former marching band members and guests attended some or all of the events
for the 95th celebration in 2016, according to Martynuik. After that notification, Martynuik introduced “Land of Make Believe” by Chuck Mangione, which he called “the perfect selection for music that makes you feel good and brings a sense of nostalgia.” And bringing up the rear was a song that “needs no introduction, as it is the official IUP fight song,” Martynuik said. The band performed a rousing rendition of “Hail Indiana,” complete with some of the marching band members singing to accompany the instrumental. And before introducing the final piece, “Amazing Grace,” Martynuik had some favors to ask of the audience, including not to crowd the field after the show and to allow 30 minutes before meeting up with students to reduce crowd sizes and limit contact. When the band finished the traditional hymn, Martynuik took to the microphone one last time amid cheers from the stadium. “It is, was and ever shall be The Legend.” Play on, The Legend.
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