Before the season could crescendo, the Indiana State School Music Association directed a stop.
The ISSMA announced the cancelation of its competitive marching band season on July 17, which impacted both Columbus East and Columbus North high schools. The local marching bands typically compete in eight to 10 ISSMA events per year, which are held across the state and feature more than 200 schools.
North’s marching band has around 120 members while East sits at about 75. Of those students, 20 seniors are expected to make up North’s roster while East estimates it will have over a dozen seniors.
For many of the students, the news was, as North Band Director Bryan Munoz put it, “devastating.”
The cancelation not only affects the band members and their families, but their schools and the community as a whole.
While the bands may not get the same public attention as some of the athletic programs, the musicians also spend countless hours perfecting their craft. Band provides a family for some students, and the competitions help teach many life lessons like discipline, responsibly, leadership, teamwork, and time management. Those life skills are invaluable to the kids as they advance to their adult years.
ISSMA stated that it’s exploring the idea of a virtual competition for the musicians, but it will be difficult to replicate live performances and judging.
It also won’t make up for all of the lost dollars to host schools. North’s annual invitational, which brings in 15 to 20 bands, collects between $10,000 and $15,000 per year — nearly 35% of the marching band’s annual operating costs.
The absence of the competition not only hurts North, but also the local economy. Hundreds flock to the city and spend dollars locally during the event’s weekend each year. While it’s smaller in scale than some others major events that have been canceled, they’re still dollars Columbus doesn’t keep in its local market.
Both bands are retooling their plans for the year; hoping they will be able to perform in a parade or two and also at high school football games. Munoz and East Band Director David Rodgers both said their kids are just thankful that they can still play music together during this time.
The ISSMA’s decision wasn’t an easy one, but will likely prove to be the right one as the number of coronoavirus cases is rising in Indiana.
Each time an event is canceled by COVID-19, it creates a ripple effect that extends to communities across the state. Moving forward, these programs will need continued support from the community.
