Behind the music: Durham high school students find community at marching band camp

Storm clouds darkened the sky above a field as cowboy hats swayed in a huddle, a roar building from within. This was not a scene from a vintage Western film, but rather, the crescendo of the final evening of marching band camp for students at Durham’s Jordan High School.

Band members worked intently over the span of two weeks to sharpen their movements and hone their sound as they prepared this season’s show, “Of Avarice.”

Daily drills emphasized the fundamentals of musicianship, the marching mechanics and the endurance needed to blend all of it into a performance under the lights. Soon, there will be an audience watching the synchronized routine from the bleachers during a football game.

But behind the music, the high school marching band is a special community — one where there’s a common purpose for students and staff alike. A familiar rhythm emerges from rehearsals before school starts. And soon, the marching band feels like a second family before the school year has even begun.

Junior tuba player Nate Lowe said the marching band can give a leg up to incoming freshmen.

“You already have a group of friends that you can talk to, that you can go to for advice, and you already have basically what is a family here at school,” Lowe said.

Go behind the scenes of the Jordan Regiment, as the band is known, as its members prepare for a new year of performances.