NHS Band Member Stepping Out With Elite Drum And Bugle Corps

By Nancy K. Crevier

Ben Spiegel has been selected from among dozens of band students nationwide who auditioned over the late fall and early winter to be part of the elite, professional marching band, the Boston Crusaders. The Newtown High School senior has been involved with the Newtown school system musical programs since fifth grade, playing trumpet under the direction of Bob Nolte, Mark Mahoney, Keith Hedin, Michelle Hiscavich, and Kurt Eckhardt as he progressed through the grades.

He is a member of the NHS marching band, wind ensemble, orchestra, and jazz band, playing lead trumpet. His mother, Carol Spiegel, credits the school music programs for preparing her son to take on the rigorous practices and schedule that will be required of him as a member of the Boston Crusaders.

“We never dreamed he would become this dedicated when he started playing,” said Ms Spiegel. But even a trying bout with braces in the ninth grade that required him to practically relearn how to play the trumpet did not deter her son. “I asked our orthodontist about getting a different kind of braces to make it easier for Ben, and he said to me, ‘Mrs Spiegel. It’s not like he is going to play Carnegie Hall.’” Ironically enough, though, Ben did play Carnegie Hall last year when the NHS orchestra preformed there.

 “I give so much credit to his teachers, especially most recently to Kurt [Eckhardt] for developing and guiding this marching band. Our high school marching band has won the Class IV State Musical Arts Competition for at least the past two years,” Ms Spiegel said.

“Ben has been an active, integral part of our band program for four years at Newtown High School,” said Mr Eckhardt in an e-mail to The Bee. “He has shown impressive growth and achievement in his trumpet playing, musicality and leadership. His contributions to our program are a testament to this, as is his success in his auditions to become a member of the Western Region, and All-State ensembles, run by the Connecticut Music Educators Association. Having risen to lead trumpet in our top group, the Wind Ensemble, lead trumpet in the Jazz Ensemble, Principal Trumpet in the Orchestra, Brass Captain of the Marching Band, and now, earning a position in the Boston Crusaders, Ben has distinguished himself with these great accomplishments.”

The Boston Crusaders is the third oldest junior drum and bugle corps in the United States, consisting of more than 100 brass players, percussionists, and a color guard made up of musicians under the age of 22. While based in Boston, the Crusaders’ winter camp is out of Orlando, Fla., and it is to this southern camp that Ben has traveled one weekend each month since being accepted in January. The practices have thrown him in with youth from all over the nation, an experience that has taught him people skills and patience, said Ben. It has also made him more focused in his schoolwork.

“I found out about the Crusaders in marching band when we would watch videos of other bands. I thought it would be really cool to do, but I wasn’t sure if I should,” said Ben. At the urging of a fellow band member, he decided to go for it. “The Boston Crusaders are in a world class division and they’re a very competitive band. I researched the auditions, talked to my parents, and auditioned in November in Massachusetts,” recalled Ben. His instincts that the audition had gone well were right on. In January, while at the USSBA National Championships in Baltimore with the NHS Marching Band, he checked his e-mail and discovered he had been invited to attend the winter camp in Orlando.

“At that point, I was ‘in,’ and I had a conditional membership,” said Ben, meaning that so long as he attended the winter sessions and kept up his trumpet and marching skills, he was on his way to a summer of new musical experiences.

The winter practices, a dawn to well past dusk boot camp, prepare the band for more than 40 competitions and exhibitions that will take them by bus more than 10,000 miles around the country this summer.

The Downside

The experience is not without its downside. Along with the long hours, Ben has given up social events all winter every weekend he was away and found that homework can quickly build up when an entire weekend is devoted to music. The Boston Crusader season also starts May 23, and that means that Ben is foregoing the last month of his high school career. He will miss the senior dance, senior class trip, and he will not be able to walk with his class June 17 as they officially graduate from Newtown High School. While his friends spend the summer days sharing final experiences as the Class of 2008 before heading off to college and jobs, Ben will be rising at 6 am and practicing drills with the Crusaders, sometimes until midnight, or performing at one venue after another.

At NHS, Ben has been used to demanding practice schedules and has learned that it takes a cooperative effort to be a part of the whole. What has been the hardest thing for him so far with the Crusaders, though, has been learning a new work ethic that requires even more concentration, time, and effort than he has ever given before.

The Boston Crusaders spring camp does bring Ben a little closer to home, being based in New Hampshire, but the grueling schedule will probably leave him little time to return to Newtown for a visit. He will miss his final performance with the NHS orchestra and jazz band, but has received permission to return to take part in the NHS band concert, May 29.

He is a little sad about missing the camaraderie of the last days at NHS. “[Being a part of The Boston Crusaders] and performing with great musicians is such an amazing experience, though. Most of the kids are music majors at colleges and are talented musicians. The directors come from a background of musicianship, too, so it’s great to work with them,” said Ben.

Determination

“The determination of the group in Orlando is so much more even than what I have experienced here at NHS,” Ben said. “I feel like I’m working toward being part of a group that only wants to be better. As a trumpet player, there is always a lot of room for learning new things.”

When he is not working hard as part of one of the many NHS musical groups to which he belongs, Ben takes private instruction from Thom Freas, professor of trumpet at the University of Bridgeport. “What I like about playing is learning and becoming a better player,” Ben said.

When Ben first became his student more than five years ago, said Mr Freas, he was not sure Ben had what it took to be a trumpet player. “Ben was really shy and the trumpet is one of those instruments that when you make a mistake, everyone hears it. But he came out of his shell and became a kid that takes charge,” Mr Freas said, looking back on his involvement with the young man. “Ben is one of my favorite students. He has taken the bull by the horns and kept going at it.”

Mr Freas foresees a fulfilling musical career ahead for Ben. “Ben is enjoying what he’s doing and I think that this Boston Crusaders experience will help mature him even further,” said the instructor.

Ben has taken the skills learned from NHS instructors, Mr Freas, and now from his experiences with the Boston Crusaders, and applied them to the lessons he teaches his own private trumpet students. “I think that being part of the Boston Crusaders this winter has helped me to be a better teacher,” said Ben.

All of the exhibitions and competitions this summer are important, but none more so than the World Championships that the Boston Crusaders will take part in August 5 to 9 in Bloomington, Ind. “That’s really what we’re working toward as a group,” said Ben, and with hard work on everyone’s part, they will have a good showing there.

“[Marching band] is not really a sport for everybody,” said Ben. “It takes what you do in a concert band and puts it all in motion, so it takes concentration to play well and march well.”

As a 2008 member of the Boston Crusaders, Ben will be eligible to return each year to perform with the band, and hopes to do so. In the meantime, he will return to Connecticut following the World Championships and begin his preparations for attending the University of Connecticut where he plans to major in music and business — and march with the Huskies, of course.