Reflective Essay: Riverside Winter Marching Team

During high school, my sister, Alyssa, and I were very involved in the fine arts. I was a part of Riverside High School’s Orchestra as a violinist and Alyssa is still currently a part of the Pride of Riverside Marching Band as a percussionist. While the band is growing and becoming more involved with the community, they struggle to find volunteers for the competitions and musical events. The event that I participated in for six hours on March 17, 2018, was a subsection of the band called Riverside Winter Percussion Ensemble. The student had a competition at Rock Hill High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, however, they only had one volunteer to help with prop set up, loading and un-loading of instruments. While this doesn’t seem like much

Though, normally I am unable to make it to competitions and concerts due to the fact that I live in another state now. However, I was informed by the one person volunteering with the band that they did not have enough people for the students to be able to perform with ease. Knowing how difficult and stressful musical competitions are without help from volunteers, I knew I had to choose this opportunity to help the students. So I made the four-hour long drive from Cullowhee, North Carolina to Rock Hill, South Carolina, to offer help to the performance. Arriving at four in the afternoon, the work started immediately. To move the instruments, the band funds a moving truck that is packed with instruments, props, and costumes. Unloading the truck to other people may seem chaotic, however, there is a system to the madness. My job during this process was to assemble props that correspond to a certain instrument as well as setting up the sound system. The band had made stands for the bass drums that are detachable for ease during transportation. Each stand corresponded with a certain bass drum, to attach the drums to the stands, they must be tide at the bottom to insure that the sound is not distorted. As for the sound system, I reconnected all the wiring and organized each wire, so the students were able to find