At a Crossroads - What is Mission Critical?

Indiana in general and Indianapolis in particular is nicknamed the "Crossroads of America." It is home to a number of non-profit music organizations - the Percussive Arts Society and Drum Corps International among them - but I want to talk about Music for All.

Formerly Bands of America (which itself was once known as Marching Bands of America), Music for All was the name adopted following the merger of BOA and the Music for All Foundation. Known for events in big domes and other venues and the crowning of a Grand National Champion each year, the merger was to allow the organization to continue to expand its reach into band camps, orchestras, jazz bands, honor ensembles, concert festivals, and advocacy.

Then the economy struck.

Right now the organization is in the middle of a critical fundraising campaign to reach $220,000 (they have a pledge for the last $30,000) by the end of this month. As of this post date they have more than have the way to go.

BOA has made sacrifices in staff, but not yet programs. In the weekly CEO chats, it seems like enrollment is going to be up, although insiders in other band programs tell me travel seems like it will be down more than 25%.

BOA has had the reputation of serving "high end" bands able to raise significant funds and put on very highly designed programs. I don't know if that was the reputation they set out to cultivate, but it is out there.

So, now the organization is facing the need to make some hard decisions. I think they have made some. But I am concerned they have not made the one that counts: What is absolutely mission critical?

There were good questions raised in the February 11 chat - what are the metrics that need to be used to determine if a program should be continued?

For me, today is a good day to reflect on what is mission critical. I hope others do so as well.

National ChampionS

Plural.

Nazareth Area HS Blue Eagle Marching Band won the USSBA National Championship. (As they say, "Wahoo!")

Avon HS Marching Black and Gold was crowned Bands of America Grand National Champion. (LD Bell, last year's champion, was second, leading to the following IM comment: "Ding dong. Avon calling.")

There are countless state champions, too - divided by various classes - and other associations such that award "super-regional" championships such as the Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast Champions and the Western Band Association and others I know I've missed. (Note: The TOB link will take you to a high school band site that is generally more up to date that the TOB home page).

In a way, crowning a National Champion in band is like crowning a national champion in college football. Lots of divisions, lots of bowl games or playoffs, lots of polls - er - scoring methodologies and philosophies. And not everyone competes at a certain level, even if they could. Witness the debate about non-BOA appearing Flower Mound (TX) Marcus HS band! A national high school football champion is nearly easier to award (witness the USA Today weekly rankings).

Professionally I work in medical practice management with a focus on anesthesiology. Finding the "right" and "best" is about as hard. Is the care team best or not? (Band speak: Do we count the guard in the members or not?) What is the optimal way to determine a band class - experience, band size, school size? (Anesthesia speak: Is medical direction best at 1:3? 1:4? 1:10? Or does it matter?)

Besides, how do we weight General Effect and Music? (Anesthesia speak: What is good vs. excellent vs. superior anesthesia care? Well, yeah, they wake up and are pain free, but the bedside manner was a mess and the case is always delayed, so ...).

I wrote before, I think, on one of the best bands I saw - a relatively small band from a relatively small Texas border town winning Class 5A, where then big boys and girls play. It hasn't happened since then.

Lately I have wrestled with the concept of excellence, especially personal sustained excellence. It is not easy, nor is it easy to do in everything. We succeed. We fail. We fail at previous successes. We succeed at previous failures. Sometimes we fail a lot and figure out that maybe we shouldn't play that game, or use that particular scoresheet. Sometimes we succeed and own the game. Sometimes we succeed and forget to check to see if the rules changed.

So are we all champions? Well, clearly we cannot be. But we can at least give our best in the field of play, whatever it is, and we can give our best at each "game".

I guess all of this is to say what a National Champion really is (six words?): Singular performance in a singular time.

Sweet Home ... Indiana?

Indiana is best known for basketball. At least that what I’m told, and I have to trust the person who told me. After all, I married her. (And of course there is that great movie about the little school that could.)

When I brought my future-wife home to meet the family, it was right after a Circle K International convention, in August, right after DCI finals. I didn’t know the results – this being the olden days before Al Gore invented the Internet. But we did have VHS! When I came into the house, I essentially said, “This is my mom. This is my sister. Now you can talk to them or sit with me, but I’m going to watch DCI finals.”

She sat. For a bit. Then went to talk to my Mom and sister. It would be a few years before she really got “snared” (okay – bad pun).

What she either didn’t know, or didn’t tell me, was that was that in Indiana, football fields are used for not just the Colts. South Dakota has the Badlands, Indiana is BandLands.

Don’t believe me? If you have time to read - you know, a book! - get "American Band". (It was one of the inspirations to start this blog. The other was my sister.) If you don’t just know this – Bands of America is headquartered in Indianapolis, home of the Grand National Championships. This coming summer, after the first of 10 years in the new Lucas Oil Stadium – where it will premier the stadium – Drum Corps International is moving to Indianapolis, too.

If your music doesn’t move on a football field, that’s okay. Indiana University is well known for its music school. And Bloomington is home to the Tony Award winning Blast!, formerly known as Star of Indiana.

Football lives in Texas, Ohio and Florida. (Yeah, yeah – and California, Alabama, Georgia …) Bands live in Indiana. Whodathunkit.