Nine years ago when Paul Brunner, James Lang, and Sacha Standish took over the Buckeye Valley Marching Band program as directors, they told their students, “If you continue to perform at the collegiate level, we will make it to one game a year to watch you.”
That promise has been kept by all three every year since 2013 and this year, all three returned to The Ohio State University on the same Saturday in September to march with two former Buckeye Valley Marching Band members, Emily Harbison and Callum Murphy (both 2020 BV graduates), during the OSU Alumni Weekend.
“This is the first year all three of us were able to attend the game and perform with our former students,” said Brunner as he smiled proudly alongside directors Lang and Sandish. “It was a great honor.”
Standish said this year is the first for Harbison and Murphy as members of The Ohio State University Marching Band.
“They showed up all summer at camps and practices, and put everything into making the 249-person band,” Standish said.
It would appear that Harbison’s and Murphy’s dedication and hard work is something that stems from the strong foundation they received while members of the Buckeye Valley Marching Band, as it is not just these two who have pursued their love of marching and performing at the collegiate level. This year, Buckeye Valley is represented on the field by Anton Pembroke at Bowling Green State University, Grant Gibbs at the University of Cincinnati, Isaac Tackett at Ohio University, and Stephy Van Zijl at Ohio Wesleyan University.
“We knew when we took over the program nine years ago there was a lot of potential and a great foundation, we just wanted to build a culture, and that is what we have done,” Lang said. “The BV band is family and as a family, we support each other during our time together at BV and after.”
All three directors have visits to Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Ohio University and OWU on their calendars in the upcoming weeks to support those members of the BV band family as they take to the fields to continue to pursue their love of music and marching.
