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Marching Raiders Step Up

Kevin Howe/ stringer photo

Members of the Plant City's Marching Band perform at halftime during Thursday Friday night football action against Newsome at Newsome.

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By PAUL CATALA, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 28, 2007

Updated: 11/26/2007 05:55 pm

City Raiders are marching to a different tune.

Under the baton of second-year music instructor Ian Peacock, the Marching Raider Band has gone up-tempo, building its music program with what one student called "a new soul."

Over the past two years, the 85-member Marching Raiders have scored superior ratings across the board in regional marching band competitions, raised the concert band's ratings two positions and made two superiors at an Oct. 20 marching band competition in Ocala.

This month, the melodies got even merrier, as the Raiders band received an overall excellent rating at the Florida Band Association Marching Assessment at Bloomingdale High School. Plant City joined more than 23 marching bands and nearly 15,000 people at the festival, and had superior ratings in percussion and band auxiliary performance.

The successes have been a treat, said Peacock, who at 25 is one of the youngest band directors in Hillsborough County.

A 2001 Plant High School graduate who grew up in Tampa, Peacock said his goal in his first full-time directing position was to get students motivated into music. A member of the Plant band playing clarinet and trombone, Peacock said he remembered the feelings of accomplishment when all the notes fell into place.

"When I started last year, only 33 kids showed up for band camp. I was kind of scared," said Peacock, who also works double duty, teaching music at Tomlin Middle School in the morning before heading to Plant City High.

"It's been a lot of work building the program. I don't try to make life all cupcakes and butterflies. I signal out stuff that needs attention and we address problems in a positive way."

Peacock, who holds a bachelor of music and performance degree from the University of South Florida, oversees music for about 200 students in freshman, symphonic, jazz and marching bands. After interning at Gaither, Plant and East Bay high schools and the University of Tampa, an ad on the Hillsborough County School District's Web site prompted him to apply for a job with the Plant City band, which has an 83-year history.

Peacock said he immediately went to work with the concert band, spending more one-on-one time with students and bringing their ratings up two points last year. He did the same with marching band and in regional competitions last year at King High School, the band chalked up straight 1s, the highest ratings.

The changes with the Marching Raiders haven't gone unnoticed by Peacock's peers.

Brian Dell, Gaither band director for four years, worked with Peacock at that school three years ago. He said Peacock's ability to build Plant City's band has been inspiring.

"He cares about the kids and he's young, laid-back, which keeps the students excited and energetic," he said.

That energy carried over into a special Veterans Day concert at the Tomlin band shell Nov. 10 and the band will march in the Plant City Christmas Parade Dec. 7, followed by a holiday concert in the Plant City High auditorium Dec. 11.

Ted Hope, supervisor of middle and secondary school music for Hillsborough public schools, said Peacock has "breathed new life" into the Marching Raiders. A 1979 King High School graduate where he was in the band, Hope said that with only one feeder school in the area, Tomlin, Peacock has molded a strong program out of a limited musical pool.

"He's done a lot to change that program around. He's changed the earlier direction of that program," he said. "It's gotten a lot stronger."

After a recent rehearsal, Peacock, who is the only music professional in his family, congratulated the freshman band on its progress on learning two new tunes. As he put his alto saxophone away, student Jack Harrer said he looks forward to band, practice and performances.

"Mr. Peacock has made it a lot of fun and he relates to us because he's younger and he has a way of motivating us," he said. "It's a lot of work, but he knows how to make practice pleasurable."

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