It was great! We got up early to get there on time, the bus ride was quiet (thank god, I needed rest) and we made it there on time. We practiced for 2 hours with George Parks, who did a great job of getting us in formation and getting us pumped up. He conducted on a lift that was about 50 feet in the air, and then he stood on the railing and conducted us. I thought he was going to fall. Luckily, he didn’t fall, and after 2 hours of practice we went to go eat soggy roast beef subs and put on our uniforms, which was a very tedious business, as there was no space. I ended up opening the emergency exit and changing outside.
We got into line, and slowly made our way to the stadium. Whenever we stalled Phil and I played Play That Funky ‘Tuba Right,’ Boy to the tap of the drums. We got other band to join in at one point. We marched the half mile to the stadium and sat down. The game was great, we owned the other team, probably because of the overwhelming support for UMass. We did the wave, when the cheerleaders shouted “go Bulldogs” we shouted “UMASS!” to drown out “Bulldog” and when they cheered after their chant we cheered with them. Mean, but fun. We also got a chant going all the way across the stadium. Our side shouted ‘YOU!’ and the other side shouted ‘MASS!’. It was awesome!
Then, at halftime, we performed, it was truly AMAZING! The power and intensity. This video doesn’t cut it, you really have to be there.
Afterwards we continued to own the Bulldogs, won, got on the bus, and went home.
As a side note most people on the bus had to go very bad. So the bus stopped at a rest stop, we all got out, ran to the building, pounded on the door, and the janitor inside wouldn’t let us in. Argh! We cried, and ran around the building looking for a port-a-potty or something. When we circled the building we looked up and saw this. “Please do not pee on this wall, security cameras in use” we LMAO’d.
Posted by John Baylies 
We performed The Rite of Spring today. It was a lot of fun! It was not the best we have done but still very good. I arrived at 9:30, warmed up, and we went on stage to practice around 11:00. Symphony Hall was a lot smaller than I remembered it. I don’t know if it was because of the point of view (on stage instead of in audience), or that I’m several years older than when I first saw it. Probably both. The only part in the piece that was still bothering me after all the practices we have had was the soli. It was at the limit of my high range and wore me out quickly. I could make it almost to the end without having to take it down 
the octave. Practice went well, and afterwards I went out to Symphony Sushi with some friends. I goth the Seafood Ramen Noodle Soup and promptly discovered that it is extremely hard to eat Ramen noodles with chopsticks. You know how when a bullfighter whips a whip and the end goes extremely fast? Well that what happened every time I slurped up my ramen. Once it even hit me in the eye! Ouch. Later I got dressed and fought with an extremely irritating button that refused to go through its respective hole. Then I waited, and waited, and waited. After a couple of hours we were on! The orchestra entered the stage amid a flurry of applause from the audience, we tuned, the conductor came out, and we began. Everything went very well. I got through the soli safely, and only missed one note. We almost fell apart at the end. It felt like we were riding in a car that was just about to fall apart but was staying together due to a continuous application of Elmer’s School Glue™, but we made it through! Woo!
Posted by John Baylies 
Posted by John Baylies 
