It never ceases to amaze me what stories become viral, or what people get into a fuss about. So when I saw this story about how a high school band was doing a show with a “celebration of the Russian Revolution”, I wasn’t surprised by the ignorance of the report. In fact, this report highlights something very important. People can be offended by something that is completely innocuous and make a big deal out of something that deserves nothing of the sort.
So what is this story about? The New Oxford High School marching band has a show which honors the music of a great Russian composer by the name of Dmitri Shostakovich. Shostakovich is a name any music history buff would know. He was a great artist who composed many great symphonies and operas. Some have even claimed he was the greatest composer of the 20th century.
I have some insight into the process of how this works. I was heavily involved in the marching band in high school and my brother has remained involved many years after graduating lending his hand at instruction. Every year the band director’s for the marching band must come up with a coherent theme which to base their show. This theme becomes very important to the visual elements of the show itself and depending on the level of competition sought, the theme and visual elements must connect with the music being played.
So when the title of the show is, “The Music of Shostakovich“, coming up with visual elements for the show isn’t even hard to do. It must incorporate visual elements of the Russian Revolution because that is not only what influenced Shostakovich’s work, but that is the time period in which he composed his work.
Enter the ignorant masses.
Todd Starnes, of Fox News, wrote this piece and had a lot of interesting quotes to share from ‘irate parents’.
“There is no reason for Americans to celebrate the Russian revolution.”
“I am sure the millions who died under Communism would not see the joy of celebrating the Russian revolution by a school 10 miles from Gettysburg.”
“It was Glee meets the Russian Revolution.”
“Who thought this was a good idea?”
It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant some people are. This show is not a celebration of the Russian Revolution. It is a show designed to honor the work of one of the 20th century’s greatest composers, Dmitri Shostakovich. Of course that doesn’t matter to the ignorant. They see what they want to see and no explanation will satisfy them.
The only word of advice I can give to the band director at The New Oxford High School is to add an introductory monologue over a loudspeaker about the show, Shostakovich, and explain what and why certain visual aspects are being used. This may not be something needed during a competition, but for those attending football games on Friday nights, it might help to explain what is going on to the ignorant masses.
Im a former student of new oxford high school. My best friends sister is part of the marching band and when i heard what was going on i wanted to try to help. All i can say is thank you so much. Everyone put everything they had into this and for all these people say we are celebrating communism and stupid stuff like that, this really helps. Everyone was so hurt to hear the crap people had to say about our show, so once again thank you soo much.
Thanks for stopping by Jeff! As soon as I saw the story I knew it was an example of ignorance gone wild. It didn’t take but 30 seconds of digging to understand what the show was truly about. Unfortunately this is another example of where politics reaches into areas that it normally wouldn’t have anything to do with. I hope that gets you interested in politics because even though it may seem dumb or unimportant, politics affects everyone living in this country!
I am a parent of one of the students in New Oxford’s Marching Band and I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you! You cannot imagine the hell that our children have been put through the last few days because of the ignorance of one “parent” and the moronic sheep at Fox “News.” I was so very pleased (and relieved) to see this article and see that someone out there actually gets that the show was about the music and was never meant to offend anyone. I, myself, cannot understand how anyone could see the show and not be astounded at the amazing job these kids have done with it. They have worked their asses off and given blood, sweat, and tears (literally) for something they care deeply about. Band is not just a school activity, it is a second family to these kids and seeing them being put through the paces this week was heart-breaking, but being the amazing kids they are, they remain resilient and determined.
Many of us have tried in vain to say exactly what you’ve written so eloquently but some people just seem to seek something to be offended about, whether it exists or not.
Thank you for expressing so well what so many of us have felt in our hearts. Our gratitude is immeasureable.
I understand 110% what you are talking about Melissa. Marching band was a big part of my life in high school and I know what it takes to put on these shows. Indeed band does become a sort of second family to the kids in the band and I can only imagine how heart breaking it must have been for these kids to see all of their hard work questioned because of one or two complaints that garnered national attention.
I only hope the dust has settled about this story and that you and your child can get back to doing what you do best! Thanks for the high praise!