Young music novices feel the rush of playing like an HBCU band

Text and photos by David Pierini, staff reporter

The band stood ram-rod straight awaiting the signal to begin its maiden march onto a stage and into a future not conceivable by the musicians 10 days prior. 

That’s because, 10 days prior, the collection of wary teenagers knew nothing about music and had never picked up a trombone or drum stick. There was fear, there was confusion and literally no time to panic.

A concert where they would sway, high-step, dance and perform two memorized musical numbers, like the show bands of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), was scheduled for North High’s auditorium on July 30.

De'Anthony Jackson grabbed a trumpet and, less than two weeks later, played it on stage.

The 13-member Northside United, which included three dancers, pulled off a life-changing performance, according to the teachers who set them on their musical path during a two-week-long summer camp. 

Family and friends hooted their approval and tears welled up in the eyes of grown musicians -- many of whom marched with HBCU bands -- who prepared the youth for what amounted to a successful moon shot. 

“When they came to us, they were looking at us like, ‘I don’t even know how or what to play,’ said David Billingsley, who won a grant for the camp and helped organize it. “We said, ‘OK, you take the trombone, you take the trumpet, you take the tuba … and let’s go.’ They didn’t know how to hold the instrument, they didn’t know about embouchure (applying a mouth to a musical mouthpiece), nothing.”

The summer camp was funded with a $30,000 Genius and Joy grant from the Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation and the Minneapolis Foundation. It came about when North High principal Mauri Friestleben asked Billingsley, a local musician and educator to start an HBCU-style band.

Anisa Raheem, left, and Ameer Webster strike the right notes and moves during a summer camp that created the beginnings of a show style band from scratch in 10 days. 

Freistleban had the right person for the task in Billingsley taught band and choir at North last school year. Still, it was daunting to Billingsley, he said.

HBCU bands have distinctive “show style” featuring geometric maneuvers with straight lines. Between drills, there is high-stepping and energetic dancing, routines known as breakdowns.

Then there is the music, usually something current and popular. Show-style bands are musically heavy on the brass instruments for bright sounds and loosely tuned, corp-style drumming that resonates in the chests of spectators. There are designated “featured” dancers but the entire ensemble dances.

Jaionne Gibson, Daria Jackson and Angel Tanna Williams danced to a Beyonce song. 

Northside United learned and performed Lil Scrappy’s “Head Bussas” and a Rae Sremmurd arrangement of “Bill Ball’n.” The band’s drum line also performed a drum cadence and Northside United’s dance troupe danced to Beyonce’s “DIVA.”

Jamroio Roberson graduated from North High School but still took part of his summer to learn tuba. 

After the performance, their teachers gushed over their students. There was an award ceremony and each Northside United member received a gift bag full of items to encourage a continued interest in music.  

“I will use this experience to hopefully continue to play the trombone,” said Ameer Webster. “I want to practice everyday at home. I want to get a college scholarship for playing trombone and I will ask my principal if we can start a band program.” 

Billingsley hopes a full HBCU-style band grows out of the summer camp. That will take more money, he said, but there was palpable enthusiasm for it in the auditorium

“What if this was a year-long program,” he asked. “What kind of difference could we make in their lives, what kind of changes could we see in our city?”