Palatine starts community marching band

Do you walk in step with any music you hear?

Was your band jacket the ultimate status symbol?

Do you start off sentences with, "This one time, at band camp … "

Are you an ex-band geek … and proud of it?

If you're nostalgic to rejoin the subculture that only fellow band members can understand, listen up: The new Palatine Area Community Marching Band wants you.

This isn't a seasoned marching band boasting a repertoire of instruments from piccolos to sousaphones.

Instead, it's a startup parade band led by two music teachers who realize they might end up with eight flutes and a snare drum.

"This was just one of our harebrained schemes," said Melissa Hartley, a teacher at Washington Elementary in Elgin. "We didn't think it'd be a possibility, but it'll be fun."

The Palatine Park District-sponsored band will hold an informational meeting at 6:30 p.m. June 3. The group is open to high school students and adults with any instrument -- but not necessarily marching band -- experience.

Hartley and co-instructor Emily Frazier, who teaches at Central Road School in Rolling Meadows, don't know who'll show up, or what instruments they'll play.

There's the best-case scenario: A few dozen, experienced marchers come bearing all the staples, including flutes, clarinets, trumpets, saxophones, trombones, tubas and percussion. And everyone owns their instrument.

The group will tackle ambitious patriotic selections such as John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" during a month of rehearsals, with the goal to perform at the Palatine's Fourth of July parade, which this year is actually on July 5.

More likely is a less balanced group whose main objective will be keeping in correct time and on the same foot. Getting their hands on different instruments, especially drums, may prove the biggest challenge.

"We may end up with 12 flutes and a symbol player," said Hartley. "But as music educators, we're well-versed at rolling with the punches and working with what we're given."

Hartley and Frazier both played in high school band and graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University, which didn't have a marching band.

They miss it and hope others are nostalgic for their old band days, too. They've roped a few friends into joining and got someone to donate a couple of drums.

"It's something that could help build a sense of community," said Frazier. "Putting on a performance worthy of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade won't happen this year, but maybe it'll turn into something bigger in the future if there's interest."

Want to join?

What: Palatine Area Community Marching Band.

Who: High school students and adults with previous instrument experience.

When: An informational meeting takes place 6:30-7:30 p.m. June 3, with rehearsals continuing the same time on Tuesdays and Thursdays through July 3. The band will perform in the Palatine Jaycees Hometown Fest parade at 10 a.m. July 5.

Where: Rehearsals are at Palatine Community Center and track, 250 E. Wood St.

Fee: $35 for park district residents; $53 for nonresidents.

Info: (847) 705-5123, ext. 237.

Band: Adults and high school students wanted