By JOHN TOMPKINS |
ANGLETON — The cheers from the crowds and
marching lockstep with fellow students while playing music is a cherished
memory for Katherine Brune-Jahnke.
Brune-Jahnke was a member of the
Angleton High School Purple Pride Marching Band as a student in the 1970s and
remembers the days when the band was nationally recognized. Hoping to maintain
the tradition, she joined the Angleton High School Alumni Band.
Since its creation five years ago, the
group has swelled to more than 200 members who have performed several times
together at various events.
“I still love the marching,”
Brune-Jahnke said. “I love the process of learning the drill again. To me
that’s always been a challenge.”
Brune-Jahnke and several fellow alumni
band members will be performing Friday night with the Angleton High School band
at the opening home football game at Wildcat Stadium. The group will also have
a social at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the American Legion hall in Angleton.
Friday’s performance has made alumni
band member Stan Montgomery busy as former band members are calling,
wanting to march again.
“We’re having people show up out of
the woodwork,” he said. “We’re also seeing younger members who played in the
1980s.”
Montgomery said he is getting a
handful of calls and e-mails every day from alumni band members and those
wanting to join the alumni band so they can march Friday night.
When former drum major and baritone
player Wayne Driskill discovered the alumni band three years ago, he could
hardly contain his excitement.
“I went so far as to buy myself a
baritone and relearned how to play it after 35 years,” said Driskill, a 1973
Angleton High School grad. “There were some songs I can play by memory.”
Driskill said being a part of the
alumni band also helps reunite former bandmates who may not have seen each
other since they played on the field in high school.
“I look forward to seeing the people,”
he said. “It’s really about seeing old friends and reliving our old glory
days.”
The group was organized as a
remembrance of the band’s accomplishments over the years, but it’s also there
to help foster music education among Angleton High School’s current students,
Montgomery said.
“We feel the music is really important
in the schools,” he said.
Outside of promoting the Angleton High
School band, the group has also pooled donations together to help pay for
students who can’t afford to be in the band, Montgomery said.
“We’re there to help in any way we
can,” he said.
The alumni band will have another
practice starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the band practice field on the east side
of the new high school, 1 Campus Drive.
For more information about Friday’s
performance or the Saturday social, call Montgomery at 979-345-3213 or visitpurplepridealumni.org.
Tickets for Saturday’s event are $20 and those wanting to attend must make a
reservation by Friday.
John Tompkins is senior reporter for
The Facts. Contact him at 979-849-8581.
The Angleton High School Alumni Band will host it's monthly meeting June 2nd at the AHS second band hall. We will be working on our upcoming charity golf tournament benefitting the Angleton Band Boosters "Lend a Hand" fund. The tournament will be held Saturday June 26,2010 at the Freeport Golf Course. Registration begins at 8:00 AM and starting time is 9:00 AM. We will be soliciting tee box sponsors at $100.00 each and looking for volunteers to help run the tournament. We will also be working on our upcoming halftime show with the AHS Band. At our last meeting we found out the last 2010 home football game would be played before our high school band would be competing at marching contest. UIL rules prohibit students from practicing over 8 hrs a week. There is no way the students could work on their marching drill and learn a second drill with the alumni. Therefore we decided to move our performance to the first home game which is August 27, 2010. This will enable the high school students to learn the drill with the alumni band during their summer band practices and not be in violation of UIL rules. We are now in the RUN mode for this season. We need to get our registration forms filled out and turned in, we have to contact sponsors, we have to get shirts ordered, and we have to contact new members. We need your help. All AHS Band alumni are welcome to participate Please make plans to attend on June 2nd. For membership or other information, contact Wayne Driskill, Membership Chairman via email at wdriskill@hotmail.com or via telephone at (281)485-1830.