It has been a few months since I last wrote about what I did over the weekend, commenting early in 2026 about my daughter’s performance in an honor band. Those comments join a number of others that discuss going on a brewery crawl, touring a private museum, camping with my family, checking out things in the state’s capital city, doing service projects and family reunions, going camping and tubing, going to the theatre, and sitting in with an orchestra. There’ve been weekends between that I did some things, even some as might actually bear comment, but I’m probably past the point of being able to discuss them intelligently. What happened this last weekend, though, is not so far past as that, and I’m happy to report on it.

On Saturday, having been invited to do so, I attended the Texas Bandmasters Association’s Strategic Booster Institute, taking place at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio. Being an old bandsman and raising a young bandswoman, I am interested in supporting my local band programs not only because such things have helped me and help mine, but because I believe that they will continue to help other people in a world that needs as much help as it can get; the institute was aimed at cultivating booster organizations that can better do the work of supporting school band programs. The information on offer seems to be of value, both in general terms and in specifics of how the local organization of which I am part (it also offered some direction toward readings I think I will do for my day job), and I will be helping that organization to put into practice those items that the other members there with me and I discussed as part of the workshops and lectures presented.

Once the Institute concluded, I went to dinner at a restaurant in the Shops at Rivercenter, where I was joined by my wife and our daughter. (Along the way, I ran into an old acquaintance; we both had other things going, so after a brief and pleasant exchange, we went about our businesses.) They had had a day along the Riverwalk, enjoying brunch and museums as well as a river tour and a round of miniature golf, and they told me much about what they had done. I was gratified to hear that my daughter had repeatedly commented that I’d’ve enjoyed what they were doing and the she wished I had been there with them; I’m told that getting such responses from a tween is a rarity, and I appreciate it greatly.

After dinner, we hiked over to the Alamodome, where the Drum Corps International Southwestern Championship was underway. We arrived in time to hear the last set of groups perform, beginning with the Blue Stars (from LaCrosse, WI) and proceeding through the Colts (Dubuque, IA), the Cavaliers (Rosemont, IL), Carolina Crown (Fort Mill, SC), Phantom Regiment (Rockford, IL), Boston Crusaders (Boston, MA), Santa Clara Vanguard (Santa Clara, CA), Bluecoats (Canton, OH), and Blue Devils (Concord, CA). I was pleased to be able to watch drum corps work once again, it having been some time since I’d been able to see a live performance; what I wrote about a few years back remains true, my daughter having had other engagements across this part of the season and me being dedicated to supporting her. But this year, her calendar was free, so I was even more pleased to be able to introduce her to it and to hear my little tubist delight in the power of the performances and the artistry of the field shows.

My daughter notes having especially liked the Crusaders’ show. My wife expressed appreciation for the Cavaliers’ use of props–and I agree with her; they seemed to be the most fully integrated into the corps’s show. For my part, I found the Colts’ show the most thematically unified, as well as a welcome call-back to more traditional marching shows. (I’m not so young as I was, after all, and I do think there is value in carrying forward a “standard” performance. Having the measuring-point is a useful thing; having an expression of traditions from which others move and against which others push is a useful thing. The continued relevance of Tolkien to criticism of fantasy literature is one example, and one with which I have engaged; “straight” productions of Shakespeare offer others. This is not to say the nontraditional isn’t good or valuable–it is, or it can be–nor that tradition is necessarily good–it isn’t always. But it is to say that a standard of comparison has its uses.) I liked that Phantom Regiment foregrounded the contras; being myself a bari sax player (witness this, this, and this, among others) and, as noted, the father of a tubist, my sympathies lie that way. So much said, I can understand why the Bluecoats won.

I expect I’ll return to the Institue. I’m a long-time band nerd, invested in the local program even before my daughter went into it, convinced of its value in the world; I’ll likely continue working with the local band boosters as long as they’ll have me, and the information the Institute offers is of value in that. I’ll hope to take in another DCI performance, although that will depend on a few other factors. And I’ll hope to bring my daughter along, although that will also depend on some outside factors. She has been invited to attend her local district’s contirbution to the school-age participant portion of the Association’s meetings next year, so there’s more reason for her (and me) to go, depending on what else is going on in our lives. But even if we can’t get back there, it was good to get there this time around.

I’m happy to write for you on a variety of topics; fill out the form below to get your own piece started!

Or you can send your support along directly!