 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Eva Dujardin Dale")
Whether creating excitement among fans with the Ohio State fight song or demonstrating class and tradition with Script Ohio, the Ohio State Marching Band gives performances loaded with school spirit and heart.
The Drums Major’s backbend and the honorary dotting of the “i” are long-standing traditions that fans expect to see every Saturday in Fall Quarter.
And even though members of the marching band live for those game-day performances in front of more than 100,000 people, it’s not the only way they excel.
Sunday, the Ohio State Marching Band will perform its annual Columbus Concert at Veterans Memorial.
The marching band has been doing the Columbus Concert since Jack O. Evans was director of the band in the early ‘50s and ‘60s.
“This concert gives the Ohio State Marching Band the opportunity to reach peak playing form. We spend a week refining our season’s music for an inside venue,” said Jon R. Woods, director of the band.
This concert gives marching band fans the chance to hear all the music played during the season.
The entire marching band will be performing, as well as various cheer groups similar to those that go around Ohio Stadium third quarter at home football games.
But game entertainment and fight songs aren’t the only pieces the marching band will perform.
“There is a segment of school songs and, of course, that’s the same every year, but it’s a very entertaining concert because of the many different styles,” Woods said.
The concert’s format includes a variety of musical styles such as rock, jazz, classical, showtunes and pop — all styles fans might not be accustomed to hearing from the marching band.
Because playing at an indoor venue is drastically different from playing in a stadium, the marching band spends the week prior to the concert preparing for an indoor performance.
An indoor concert venue illuminates the subtleties and dynamics of a musical composition, nuances that can often be overlooked by listeners while in a crowd of thousands.
The Columbus Concert is a look into the talent, skill and control that the musicians of the Ohio State Marching Band possess.
For Woods, the concert is a change of pace in directing and listening.
“I enjoy the Columbus Concert because the band is at its musical peak for the season. It’s also fun to perform for an audience that has come to hear our music,” he said.
The concert is open to the public, and the tradition of the band draws children, students, parents and alumni.
Seeing the Ohio State Marching Band play at Ohio Stadium is an unparalleled experience for some, but the Columbus Concert provides a worthwhile contrast.
“We are facing [the audience] at all times, so the energy is very intense, much more intimate than in Ohio Stadium. It’s the best of a concert performance with a bit of pep rally added,” Woods said.
The Ohio State Marching Band, under the direction of Woods, will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday at Veterans Memorial, 300 W. Broad St.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the concert. Until Nov. 1, a $10 group rate is available for parties of 15 or more.
