Dr. Brian Hodge is among those most eager for the Fall semester to get underway at East Stroudsburg University because he\u2019ll be striking up the Warrior Marching Band to welcome students back to campus and take their place supporting Warrior initiatives. Hodge, the director of university bands and choir, will be busy all summer long writing musical selections and making plans that will allow the band to make a positive impact on the long-awaited opening of campus, all while keeping performers safe and protected during the ongoing reality of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome colleges and universities are sadly not planning to utilize their marching bands this fall at all,\u201d notes Dr. Hodge. \u201cAt ESU, we currently have about 40 students planning on returning to the Warrior Marching Band. We\u2019re working over the summer to write music and design the shows that we\u2019ll bring into performances starting in September. I know the students are excited to return. It\u2019s a tight-knit group who love performing music and bringing excitement in everything we do. I\u2019m very hopeful that there will be others, especially new or current students, who want to share their talents and perform for our ESU and regional communities and to become part of our band family.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Hodge, students participating in ESU\u2019s Marching Band will come back to campus on the morning of August 24th<\/sup> to begin practicing together, noting that there won\u2019t be significant changes in what they do or how they deliver their performances.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be practicing our music and our movement during camp as well as building ties with safe social events for our students to enjoy,\u201d says Hodge. \u201cStudents will be at least six feet apart for every session, given that we\u2019ll be working on the University\u2019s practice fields with space to spare between each band member. We\u2019re even working on face masks and specialized face shields which can be used while playing \u2013 our top priority is the safety of our students. Before and after rehearsals and performances, we\u2019ll be introducing more rigorous sanitization practices for the instruments and students. We have made the decision that these ensembles are important not only for our audiences but also for the students themselves, and we will make sure we are doing all we can to protect our students and audiences as we perform.\u201d<\/p>\n