by Marshall Newton
Minarets Show Band is up and running full swing with the return to in-person learning. They had originally planned to return in pods earlier this year alongside welding learning pods; however, due to transportation issues, with most band members living in Fresno, they were unable to rehearse together. Inevitably, they had to cancel pods and wait it out.
Once news was let out that we would be returning to school, Brett Moglia, the Minarets music director, immediately went to the school administration and requested permission to have all Show Band students on campus on the same days. This would allow them to practice together, rather than half on Tuesday/Wednesday and half on Thursday/Friday. Though this required some schedule changes, all the members agreed that it was worth it and were happy to rehearse together.
Moglia has received a few performance requests, but due to only being on campus for a few weeks and having little rehearsal time, he had to decline. “We couldn’t really do it since only three out of the twelve members are returning to showband from last year. So, it’s not like they could play super well together, that’s only about 25% returning and 75% new members,” said Moglia. Their main focus is to get ready for Senior Graduation. They plan on doing a thirty minute pre-show, with two smaller shows during graduation. Part of the show will also be a tribute to last year's seniors who were unable to have a graduation ceremony due to the Covid-19 shut downs. They have already had six rehearsals in which they've practiced their songs for the show.
Even though they are in full swing, the band has still had to adjust to some new Covid-19 restrictions that Moglia has set up in the class. Normally, all the band members help with setting up equipment and often move around to try out each other's instruments; this year, that’s not happening. Moglia has taken precautions by doing the entire set up himself, taping an outline to each member's assigned area, and making sure that no one shares instruments. He has also gotten “singers” masks for the vocalists, which helps their voices not be as muffled during their performances.
Moglia has also said that he wants to make the rest of the year as special as possible for seniors like Taylyr Moglia and Ryan Hough. Hough, who is a first-year student in the class, is the band's bass guitar player. Taylyr Moglia is the lead singer and the longest member of Showband, being in the class all four years at Minarets and even doing shows when needed as early as seventh grade.
WIth all that has happened, Showband is coming back strong with a future that looks bright. Moglia predicts an 80% member return rate next year and has already recruited a new member for the fall semester.