The sound of the saxophone mingles with the whistle of the flutes directly opposite them. The drums, piccolo, trombones, tuba and other brass instruments soon join in as the Richard Montgomery High School marching and jazz bands stand in the “J” formation, filling the space with John Williams’ Olympic Fanfare. And that was just in the practice room.

Richard Montgomery’s marching band is preparing to play at an event honoring the many Olympians from Montgomery County. This summer, Montgomery County was extremely well represented at the most famous athletic event in the world.

“These are probably some of the biggest names we’ve performed for in RM history–like Katie Ledecky and the other Olympians,” observed drum major Irene Guggenheim-Triana.

Before this huge event, the ensemble keeps in mind Dr. Perry’s message that they are more than just a high school band, that they “can work just as hard as professional ensembles,” said Guggenheim-Triana, trying to convey the mindset that she and her peers were in.

The band had been practicing every day at lunch over the course of the week, extending their already busy schedule. “We had not only the concert on Thursday but also the jazz festival last Saturday, so this is our busy time of year. We added this, but they’ve been handling it very well,” Dr. Perry explained proudly.

Behind the broad-shouldered black, white and gold uniforms of the Richard Montgomery ensemble, there are hard-working students who not only put in their best effort for the band, but also had to keep their academic lives intact.

It is a predicament that even world record setter Katie Ledecky can empathize with. Reminiscing about her own experience juggling her sport and her academics, she offered some words of wisdom. “Just keep working hard at what you love. For me, I love swimming but I’m also really committed to my schoolwork,” she advised.

Fortunately for our ensemble, marching band is not as time-consuming as, say, training for the Olympics. According the brass section leader, Josh Levy, marching band actually often offers some leeway in students’ busy schedules. “Unlike some activities, marching band doesn’t eat my entire life,” he laughed.

Perhaps this low-stress environment is what allowed the RM marching band to march through the doors on Monday, December 19th, heads held high, entering the packed room chanting “RMHS!” to the rhythm so familiar to those in the RM community. The crowd, now awake, offered cheerful applause as the band marched to the left of the stage.

There were some more speeches and introductions, after which the marching band gave a dazzling performance of the national anthem, followed by another round of applause. But the big performance was still yet to come.

The ceremony progressed with more speeches, commending the first white water racer Ashley Nee, followed by swimmer Jack Conger, and finally freestyle swimmer Katie Ledecky, offering them various pieces of art and accolades. Then, a bit of chaos ensued. County Executive Ike Leggett invited young children to come up to the stage to take pictures with the Olympians, and within a few minutes a group of over 200 had gathered.

Somewhere in this confusion, communication must have gone awry. To the band’s astonishment, the establishment started playing a YouTube recording of the Olympic song instead of allowing the band, designated for this purpose, to do so.

But our ensemble was unfazed. Prior to the show, Dr. Perry had described the RM ensemble as, “a group of students who come together, collaboratively work together to create art together, and the end result isn’t necessarily to win or beat the enemy.” This is exactly what everyone could see as the recording finally stopped and every member picked up their instruments to perform the song they had all prepared so much for.

As usual, our marching band’s work does not stop there. “Around the time that we get back from break, we’re going to start recruiting, we’re going to start going to the middle schools, trying to get the magnet kids who come over here and try to get them involved,” Guggenheim-Triana explained.

Recruiting season continues until about the beginning of the following school year. “It’s a whole lot of fun! We teach you everything you need to know,” Dr. Perry noted. “Even if you’ve never done anything ever before and you’re just trying to find a cool place to be in the school–this is the ensemble to be in.” It certainly seems like his students agree.