If you squint a little, you might mistake 23-year-old Kyle Boyle for the much older Robert Preston, the actor who played Harold Hill in the 1962 feature film The Music Man.
Boyle, who was appointed at the new marching band director at Secaucus High School in June, has similarly colored hair and a friendly and trusting face. But unlike the character Hill from the movie, Boyle hasn’t come to town to sell residents musical instruments, nor is he likely to start singing a rendition of “Seventy-Six Trombones,” the movie’s show-stopping song.
Boyle instead said he intends to alter the direction of the band a little from the kind of marching and music it performed in the past.
During moments when he isn’t speaking to band parents or to kids, Boyle drums his fingers on the back of a chair as if he already hears the music he intends the band to play. Dressed in a New Jersey Devils T-shirt and sneakers, he looks more like a football coach than a band director.
Boyle has lived his entire life in Kearny, the place where his parents grew up.
He served as a member of the Cadets of Bergen County and other marching bands, as well as a musical and marching instructor in several local marching bands throughout Northern New Jersey.
As a performer, Boyle played a soprano bugle.
He said he got involved in marching bands while still in high school back in 1992. Music ran in his family. His mother played violin and piano, and uncle played violin.
Boyle never wants to stop. He has been teaching as well as performing, and loves the marching band scene so much that he says he could spend seven days a week involved. He has a degree in musical education and teacher voice and trumpet. For a living, he teachers music and provides private lessons for high school students.
Getting down the basics
In speaking to the Band Parents Association recently, he urged the parents to get their kids enrolled for band camp – a late summer retreat that will take place in August. There, he said, much of the drill work is done, the basic training that allows everyone to get into step.
“There is nothing worse than coming home after six days of rehearsal to find band members who didn’t go and have to be taught everything from scratch,” he said. “One or two kids is not so bad, but more than that and it takes a lot of days to catch up.”
He said by teaching kids the drills at camp, he can concentrate on the music during the rest of the time – although the kids do much of the musical learning on their own. What he does is help them play together and coordinate the whole performance into a joint effort.
Boyle said Secaucus’ marching band has a strong support group, something that can make a big difference with the kids. He said he’s not making great changes at first, but will evaluate what the band has already.
“I want to look at what is there, at how long the kids have been playing,” he said. “It’s my goal to make the band better. But I also want the kids to have a good time.”
The marching band, he noted, helps kids cooperate with each other, each member contributing the overall sound. In a way, it prepares them for later in life and their ability to contribute to society.
Boyle said he intends to help build interest in the band. He said he would incorporate and build on techniques. New, more interesting music is also part of the agenda.
“I want to carry over with some of the great things Rob Fornier had taught them with the concert band,” he said. “I’m looking to do more pop music.” He said he planned “a fun show” for the fall. Many of the kids involved in the concert band are also part of the marching band. The marching band is incorporates kids from seventh to twelfth grades. The marching band performs halftime at home football games, pre-show festivities at away games, and various other parade activities. In the 2001-2002 school year, the marching band had 55 members including color guard.
“We’re thrilled to have Kyle,” said Michael Jaeger, vice president of the Secaucus Marching Band Parents Association.
The Association is a key part of the musical and education experience. During the year, they hold fund-raising events such as their annual Pasta Dinner Night and Tricky Tray. They also work concession stands during dance recitals. This money goes towards the band needs and scholarships for band members. This year, the Band Parents association gave away ten $500 scholarships to graduating Secaucus High School students.