By Deborah Reed
WKTV Managing Editor
deborah@wktv.org
The Wyoming Wolves Marching Band is about more than just making music – it’s about leadership and excellence.
This reporter recently caught up to the band at Michigan Veteran Homes in Grand Rapids where they performed songs from their 2023 marching band show, Thriller, for residents and staff.
Student leadership was immediately evident as students unloaded instruments, assembled into sections, and began to warm up – all while the director stepped aside to talk with me about the band.
“We really thrive on a high level of student leadership,” said Shawn Gurk, Director of Bands at Wyoming Public Schools. “They have their responsibilities, they have their roles, and they are the ones who really make it happen.”
Redefining success
Led by directors Gurk and Kayla Cordell, the 70-member band regularly receives Division I ratings at marching, concert, and jazz festivals. But Gurk says those ratings are not what convey the band’s true success.
“We measure success in excellence,” said Gurk. “We do perform competitively, but our goal is to win by performing excellently. If that means we get some awards and trophies, great. But I find, as a band director, the trophies are the ones who show up every day and do the work. And that is my students.”
And those students are stepping into roles of leadership with enthusiasm.
Gurk firmly believes that leadership is not always about having a personality for it or being prone to it.
“Leadership can be taught,” said Gurk. “They might be the shyest person, but get them behind an instrument and all of a sudden there is someone different. We are seeing kids thrive.”
But Gurk continued to say that thriving is not always easy for students because they tend to be hard on themselves. However, he works to help them focus on finding what they are good at and then improving upon those things.
“[It is] a self-acknowledgment of what we are capable of, what we are doing well without being arrogant,” said Gurk. “There is a sense of humility, but it’s humility in driving to make us better.”
Finding connections and community
Chesson Oliver, drum major and a junior at Wyoming High School (WHS), said that band participation is a family tradition, but the kindness she has seen from the directors and students is what kept her going in the program.
“The people are very supportive and kind and great friends, so it’s a great place,” said Oliver.
Oliver continued to say that there is a definite level of care and community in the band program.
“I don’t know everyone’s name in the band, but I can say ‘hi’ to all of them and we know who each other are without knowing each other personally. We care about each other’s well-being,” said Oliver.
That care and connection are a hallmark of the WHS Band.
“We are a band family,” said Gurk. And like all families, “we go through our ups and downs.”
Isaac Zavala, bari sax player and a senior at WHS, works to ensure that there are more “ups” than “downs.”
“I try to hype up the band and pick up the energy,” said Zavala with a grin. “They call me the Hype Man. I have a lot of energy every morning, every rehearsal.”
Zavala says he makes it a point at rehearsals to ask how other students are doing.
“I always try to engage and talk to everybody,” said Zavala.
When asked why he feels compelled to make those connections each day, Zavala said his parents always taught him to be kind to others.
“They would always say, if someone feels down, pick them back up and try to give them the energy they need to have a better day,” said Zavala.
Time well-spent
The Wyoming marching band schedule begins the second week of summer to help build that family aspect (through games and bonding activities) and prepare students for the season.
But Gurk is always aware of how much time he asks the students to put into the program.
“We give the kids opportunities to be in sports, to have jobs, to spend time with their families, to rest,” said Gurk.
The directors encourage the students to focus on the time they do have in rehearsal and use it well.
A life-changing impact
Symone Gray, color guard captain and WHS senior, enjoys the time she spends with the band.
“The people in band are the people I’m the closest to in the whole school,” said Gray.
Gray admitted that she was in a different place than usual in her life when she joined band.
“A lot of people would probably say that I’m really outgoing, but during my freshman year and beginning of sophomore year, I was very shy and kind of insecure,” said Gray. “The band helped me get to know different kinds of people in all grades, and it really put me out there more.”
Drumline captain and sophomore Rhiley VanDyken joined band in sixth grade because it helped calm her anxiety.
“It’s opposite of what it seems to be, but [drumline] really helped with my anxiety,” said VanDyken. “It was just calming, with beats and melodies of different instruments.”
VanDyken wasn’t sure about joining drumline at first. After meeting some upperclassmen in the section, however, VanDyken thought it would be a place where she could fit in.
“Last year I had the best year of my life,” said VanDyken. “I was in such a bad place before then, but drumline has been one of the biggest things that has helped me through everything.”
Giving back to the community
The veterans home is only one of many community performances from the Wyoming Bands.
Visits to Vista Springs Nursing Home and Pine Oak Apartments, as well as annual performances at band camp, parades, school concerts and festivals, and local holiday craft shows are some ways the Wyoming Bands look to engage the community.
“Getting out into the community is super important,” said Gurk. “We think about those who society doesn’t necessarily care for, and about getting to older people who may not be visited.
“Music is a gift,” Gurk continued. “It’s not ours to horde, it’s a gift to the community.”
A Thriller of a show
The 2023 Wyoming marching band show is entitled Thriller, though Gurk explained the objective is a spooky narrative, not scary.
Featuring Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue”, the Halloween movie theme, “This is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas, “Spooky Scary Skeletons,” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” the Wyoming Wolves Marching Band show can be seen at home football games, the MSBOA Marching Band Festival on Oct. 10, and the Jenison and East Kentwood Invitationals on Oct. 21.
