YSU’s Payne: Virtual Shows Keep Band on the March

Brandt Payne, director of the Youngstown State University Marching Band and associate professor of music at YSU, is coming back strong. Learn more about him at YSU Bands’ website.

What are some ways the COVID-19 outbreak has affected your organization, and how is it rebounding?

COVID-19 has affected every surface and angle of our organization, the YSU Marching Pride. A university marching band is hard wired to connect with large audiences inside large football stadiums and beyond. The louder, noisier, and the more people, the better! That runs counter to what is considered responsible behavior in 2020! 

Connecting with our audience through performances is central to how we function. So, we’ve been busy! Thankfully, young people are thoughtful and eager to find solutions to enhance their experience for each other.

Since late March, I have met with our leadership staff (students comprised of drum majors, section leaders and field staff) at least once a week to begin. Our goal was to reconceive what we do and how we connect with people and audiences. Parallel to these conversations has been endless dialogue and action to ensure that logistically, we operate safely and within margins provided by the state and university. Not once did it get brought up that we shouldn’t have band. Our goal from the first meeting was to continue to forge ahead until we’re told to stop.

Instead of a 170-piece marching band we have broken down into two groups of wind players. One group is named “Pete” and the other “Penny.” Drumline, color guard, Penguinettes and feature twirlers join wind players for run throughs from their assigned rehearsal locations at Stambaugh Stadium. Reporting to band has a check-in process where members are spaced apart and all members check-in on a digital roster. In addition to dissecting how we perform and connect, we also had to reconsider the mundane yet critical logistical aspects to keeping a marching band operating safely during a pandemic. Vigilance is the word we use — don’t let up. Heed your space, follow our instructions explicitly and wear your mask at all times. Each day we learn more!  

How has the outbreak affected your personal life?

This may sound cliché but I am thankful to have employment and a teaching position at a university. I return to this fundamental yet vital component of my life and how my job provides for the other parts of my life and the responsibilities I have, like my family. Whether it be in northeast Ohio or across the country, many are hurting. You don’t have to look far to see people doing their best and working their hardest to make ends meet to provide a normal life for their families. I truly feel thankful to be able to provide for the students I serve at YSU.

On the other hand, I am human. We all have found ways to navigate moments of urgency or angst whether we’re stoved up at home or watching numbers climb. As of late I have worked harder to take the advice I give to my students and focus on not being self-critical. Humanity has survived traumatic episodes and gone on to flourish. We could all list endless examples.  

A favorite acronym I share with marching band students is one I took from Lou Holtz and it is W.I.N. What’s important now? It is advice I have used when I feel urgency about the unknown or what the next week or months will bring. In our attempts to dictate and control what will happen a week, month and year from now…what’s important NOW?

My wife is an avid walker, even when it’s below zero she still gets several miles in. I’m working to get more physically active and taking part in routine exercise to center emotionally and mentally while balancing the many responsibilities of teaching and changes brought forth by COVID-19.

What steps are you taking to come back strong?

With the YSU Marching Pride, Monday, Aug. 10 was the first time our students connected in-person since Thursday, March 5. Students are resilient and have been eager to bounce back with changes and follow the plans we set up since March. We are working to come back strong by following the plans we devised and doing the best we can with the timeframe and constraints we have to work with.

We are preparing performances at Stambaugh Stadium for a video presentation performance that we hope to share later in September/early October. This will be similar to our usual in-person shows but in video form. We may have some live elements via streaming from the stadium, too. For now, we are still working on connecting as a team and performing ensemble. Our students have endured so much, providing them a healthy and safe outlet to connect with marching band is a front-burner goal.

Getting performances and materials out is a priority for our band. Even more important is continuing to connect with and serve the needs of our students. Often times this is a simple question of, “How are you today?” Or it’s having an outlet to come to (band) to forget about the many life forces our students are navigating – that’s healthy, too. These are always priorities but even more so now with all that our students are navigating. Many of them are also part-time or full-time employees balancing work schedules in addition to academics. Kids today from our vantage point work hard.

What advice are you sharing with the people you love?

I tell my two daughters in grade school that it is a good time to be young, as they long for play dates and trips to the pool with all of their friends. I have said the same thing to university students as they look back at me with bewilderment! It’s a time where we need leaders in education who are eager to make sacrifices and connect with young people! Get out there and make a difference!

A phrase I often heard my mother state growing up, and still today is, “This too will pass.” I think of this often. I also remind those close to me and those whom I work with to make good decisions and live a healthy life. Possessing the ability to dissolve the self into the whole is a central axiom in our organization. It’s not about “I,” but “we.” The same goes for all of us when we are in public. When everyone does their part regarding social distancing and face masks, we all win. It’s not about me, it’s about us! Do your little part, and good things will happen. And be nice!