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By Dr. Chavone Taylor Nash. Ed.D.

"Art is how we decorate space; music is how we decorate time" -Jean Basquiat. 

I am standing at the back gate waiting for the hand gesture for us to approach the field. By this time, it's around 9:00 PM, and the cool night air is not helping to calm my anxious nerves. Finally, the hand signal we've been waiting for. The gate opens, and we walk across the field. I head to my spot. I'm the youngest in my section, and I'm very nervous and do not want to mess up the show. I tried very hard to find my parents in the crowd, but I saw a wall of people screaming and cheering for us, from end zone to end zone, top to bottom. They waited all day to see us, and we were at the program finale. We take our spots on the baseline and listen very closely for the two beeps of the whistle. As the crowd yells and ferociously cheers us on, I focus intently on the sound of the whistle so as not to mess up. *Beep-Beep*, the whistle sounds, and the long-awaited show begin.

This describes my very first experience performing at the Battle of the Bands. As an eighth-grade student from East Cleveland, OH, the very first Battle of the Bands, presented by Music Through the Streets, catapulted my interest in instrumental Music. From there, I would grow my interest as a percussionist, learning technique and skill, which began its cultivation at an early age in church. It was here, in the marching band, where I would learn a skill that would carry me beyond any point that I could have ever imagined.

For many people, instrumental Music is a hobby they pick up around the 3rd or 4th grade. A elementary and middle school students and their parents come to the school performances, listen to their recitals, clap, and cheer for their students. I was one of those students. I was in elementary school and middle school concert band, and I played saxophone. At that time, I didn't understand the importance of instrumental Music. I just did it because my friends were doing it, much like other activities I participated in then. It wasn't until I joined the marching band that I started to understand how instrumental Music could impact the entirety of my life. Those early program introductions set the stage for what would become a lifelong commitment for me. 

Throughout my high school career, I could travel as a marching band member. I traveled to many Historically Black colleges and Universities, participated in campus tours and homecoming parades, and competed in battle of the bands. We traveled all over the country performing, including a trip to attend the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China! The band became a constant, year-round commitment.

While I did very well in high school academically and performed very well in marching band, and graduated at the top of my class, I had no idea what was next after high school. We'd gone on on-campus visits and had a lot of exposure to post-secondary education, but I just did not understand my next steps. Where Music had been so involved in my life, I let it lead again. After high school, I always wanted to continue my marching band career and march at a collegiate level. The collegiate level is the professional level of a marching band. It wasn't easy to get into the programs. There is a challenging audition process, and I was very nervous about pursuing this opportunity. Being in a male-dominated section, percussion, I was always concerned about my ability to compete with the best. Maybe they could play better than me, pick up parts quicker than me, and just be a better musician than I was. 

I auditioned to be in the Alabama A&M University Marching Maroon and White Band. I was very nervous. At the conclusion of the audition, I learned I made the snare line. The excitement that I felt, at that time, from succeeding in that audition was beyond any other excitement I had ever felt. With this, I could fund my undergraduate education with my band scholarship. Thinking back to how I felt standing on the field, the very first Battle of the Bands, and preparing to take the field, I felt like all those years of sacrifice and commitment paid off. 

Today is a full-circle moment. While I type this, having fully published my Dissertation in Practice, which examines more about Music Through the Streets, I am now a percussion instructor, teaching seventh through twelfth-grade students the art and science behind instrumental Music. I can watch my students go from having no understanding of instrumental Music through college using marching bands to help fund their undergraduate and academic pursuits. It is extremely rewarding to hear students speak about their commitment, discipline, poise, and responsibility…all characteristics that I attribute to blossoming as a marching band member. I often tell my students that their pursuits, work, and sacrifice now will fund their future. I am a true testament to that. 

Now in the 23rd year, the Battle of the Bands, presented by Music Through the Streets, is Ohio's largest high school battle of the Bands competition. The Battle of the Bands brings high school bands from across the country, as well as college bands, to Cleveland, OH, to showcase their talents. These are some of the most exciting Historically Black College bands. The high school bands model this show-style approach, high knee lifts, very energetic dance moves, horn swings, auxiliary units, and more. Music Through the Streets is a nonprofit organization that introduces students to instrumental Music and uses this as a platform to access post-secondary education. This non-traditional method bridges the gap between post-secondary opportunities for students from historically excluded demographics to the reality of post-secondary education and financing their chance. Without organizations like Music Through the Streets and their work and commitment to programs like the Battle of the Bands, I, and many other students, would not have had early exposure to college and gained skills that would transfer into life-long support. 

Chavone is a 2023 University of Dayton's Ed.D program graduate. She is a community curator, working as a professional bridging the need gap with services in Greater Cleveland. Chavone is with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, connecting underrepresented communities to legal access. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Music Through the Streets. Connect with Chavone on LinkedIn or via email: Nash.Chavone@gmail.com.