Marching Trojans small in number, but mighty

Editor's note: This is the last in a series of stories featuring high school marching bands from across the Juniata Valley.

MOUNT UNION -- Tyler Dixon is a marching band director and not a history teacher, but even he knows that Rome wasn't built in a day.

And neither was the Mount Union Area High School Marching Band.

Dixon, who is in his first year of directing the Marching Trojans, has 14 band members out his fall -- 12 musicians and two color guard members.

"We're small this year, but we're mighty," Dixon joked. While fewer numbers might limit field shows, it hasn't dampened the Trojans' enthusiasm.

"I knew that as soon as the season started, we were going to impress with our show," Dixon said. "We're playing the music so well and marching well, too."

The theme of the Trojans' show this year is "The Music of Duke Ellington," with the band performing classics "Caravan" and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)."

It took Dixon some effort to convince the band to play jazz tunes from the 1930s.

"At first, they were a little hesitant, but I think they started to enjoy the songs. They asked questions about jazz, and it opened new doors for them."

The Mount Union post is the first directorial position for Dixon. He previously taught in the Oswayo Valley School District in Potter County, which did not have a marching band.

Dixon played saxophone in the Marching Pride marching band at Slippery Rock University. He attended the University of Akron for grad school and was in the pep band. The past couple of years, he's served as the assistant band director at Philipsburg-Osceola High School.

Dixon believes he can restore the band to its once-storied past when its ranks were much larger.

In fact, the response from the Trojans' performances at Friday night football games has Dixon excited about the prospects of future seasons.

"Just the number of students asking me, 'Is it too late to join this year?' I said, 'Yes, it is too late,'" he explained. "Hopefully, we can get them for next year."

Dixon is also optimistic because of the large number of fifth- and sixth-grade members coming up through the ranks of the middle school program.

Dixon can't compliment his senior drum majors enough -- Kai Weaver and Dekenon Pollock. "They're both leaders in the band," Dixon said. "I couldn't have asked for two better individuals to run things."

Dixon also said the band has worked extremely hard this season to put a solid performance together on the field, starting at band camp this past summer. "We had it for two weeks during the hot summer," Dixon said. "We got through the basics and got through our show very quickly. We learned our music, so it was all there in the beginning. They all worked really hard."

In addition to its weekly performances, the band hosts Fifth- and Sixth-Grade Band Night on Sept. 22. The turnout also burned bright for the future of the Marching Trojans. "A lot of them signed up to come play in the stands with us," Dixon said.