FHS marching band takes home state title for fifth time in six years

By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer

FERNDALE — One key strategy helped the Ferndale High School marching band continue its winning ways and capture a fifth state championship in six years: They didn’t focus on winning.

According to Golden Eagles band director Elon Jamison, “You have zero control over how the judges see you and how the other teams perform. If your focus is on winning, then your focus is in the wrong place. We always just concentrate on giving the best performance we possibly can — if you do that, then the outcome usually turns out for the best.”

On Nov. 7, the 113-member FHS marching band took home first-place honors in the Flight III division of the Michigan Competing Bands Association’s state marching competition at Ford Field in Detroit. The Eagles received a score of 85.95, their highest of the season, and also earned the Best Marching Caption Award.

The band’s 2009 show, titled “Planet Earth,” consisted of the challenging musical pieces “Vesuvius” and “An American Elegy” by Frank Ticheli and “Kingfishers Catch Fire” by John Mackey.

After placing first four straight years from 2004 to 2007, the band took home third-place honors in last year’s competition. Still, drum major Peter Ceglarek, a senior, said that although he really wanted to win it all in his final year at FHS, that was never his — or the band’s — primary goal.

“I always feel like we’re competing against ourselves,” he said. “I really loved the show we put together, so I just wanted to make sure we put on the best performance we could. There have been times in the past where we won (first place), but we didn’t really do our best, so we didn’t feel totally satisfied. This time, I felt like we really nailed it.”

For sophomore trumpet player Jonah Meltzer, the MCBA victory was a sign of the strong bond between the members of the band. “It doesn’t matter what place we come in — what matters is the feeling we get from it, and we felt great afterwards,” he said. “It’s about the friendship and the teamwork and having confidence in what you do. When you work together as a big family, it’s amazing how much more you can accomplish than you can on your own.”

One of the remarkable things about the marching band’s success this year, Jamison said, is how it was able to accomplish so much with so many underclassmen in the group. Of the band’s 113 members, there are only 14 seniors, but there are 37 freshmen and 15 pre-freshmen, or eighth-graders. In addition, there are no seniors in the battery — the marching percussion section — or on any of the brass instruments.

Still, Jamison said that he never viewed his squad’s youth as a disadvantage. “I feel that this is the strongest group of students we’ve ever had in my 12 years with the band,” he said. “They just do whatever we need them to do: They work really hard, show up on time and do their jobs. This year has been virtually stress-free and drama-free. It’s been great to see the older kids look after the younger ones because it really fosters the sense of family we like to see in the band.”

For senior Rachel Akers, the flute leader in the band, it also helps that the younger members “really pull their weight” and understand their role in the group.

“There’s always a moment in putting together these shows where everything really clicks, and we can see how it’s all supposed to fit together,” she said. “When each individual knows their importance to the band, then the group can do well as a whole.”

Ceglarek agreed. “The most important thing is each person’s dedication and our chemistry as a group,” he said. “We all get along great together, and we love coming to practice.”

That feeling of unity is one of the things that Jamison stresses to his students. In building a perennial championship-caliber marching band program at FHS, he knows that teamwork and camaraderie are the glue that hold everything together. But it also takes a great deal of time, effort and commitment, something he’s proud to note that his students never seem to be lacking.

“We set very high standards for ourselves every year, so we never expect any less than the best from our kids,” he said. “The rewards and the responsibilities are almost entirely theirs. But it’s like I always tell them: You’re going to be a part of something really amazing as long as you’re willing to put the time in.”

For seniors like Akers and Ceglarek, walking off the grass at Ford Field for the final time on Nov. 7 carried a “bittersweet” feeling. Although both are proud of their high school accomplishments and plan to pursue marching band next year in college, they felt a little sad knowing that their careers at FHS were coming to an end.

But as Ceglarek pointed out, they can’t wait to come back to Ferndale in the coming seasons to see the band’s highly talented youngsters maximize their potential.

“I think this experience really showed these kids that success is always available to them if they put the work into it,” he said. “I’m really excited to see them perform over the next few years — they’re going to be absolutely phenomenal. I feel like people haven’t seen anything yet.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Selweski at jselweski@candgnews.com or at (586) 218-5004.