美国国家公共电台 NPR--How Morgan State's new leader prepares for the Battle of the Bands

How Morgan State's new leader prepares for the Battle of the Bands

Transcript¹

Morgan State University's "Magnificent Marching Machine" band is making its debut² appearance at the 2023 Honda Battle of the Bands showcase on Saturday. Six HBCU bands will compete in the competition.

The milestone³ is happening during the first year of the new band director Dr. Jorim Reid.

"I didn't want to be a band director," Reid said. "I wanted to be an assistant band director where I would just be able to write, teach and compose, arrange music, but, you know, the universe had other plans."

The Honda Battle of the Bands is an annual marching band show featuring marching bands from Historically Black colleges and universities. It started in 2003 and the event was hosted in Atlanta, GA from 2003-2020. The event attracts more than 50,000 spectators annually⁴.

Alabama State University is hosting this year's event and Morgan State will be playing along with bands like Savannah State University from Georgia and Langston University from Oklahoma.

Reid made six previous appearances at the Battle of the Bands show at North Carolina Central University. But this time his M-3 band will be the most northern of the six HBCU bands for his appearance, and he expects Morgan State to bring a different sound to this show.

"We're still the South," Reid explains.

"The Mason-Dixon line is above us. But from a perception standpoint to a cultural standpoint, in a lot of ways, it's not the South to some or too many."

Tory James, the lead drum major, is excited about the music.

"A lot of people don't know about our Baltimore culture and music," James said before Morgan State's practice last Tuesday.

"So that's what we're trying to integrate and make sure that people can see, like the Tems joint⁵, that's a Baltimore thing and it's starting to get big, but we want to make sure people actually notice where we come from and what kind of stuff we really do."

Nyree Jackson, a trombone player in her second year with the band, is happy with the band's new direction.

"As a child when I was in middle school, I always jumped to do something like this," Jackson said after the band's practice.

"It's like I'm scared and I'm fangirling at the same time."

Reid doesn't want to bring awareness⁶ of what the M-3 band can do just to the south. He wants aspiring⁷ musicians from around the world to know what Morgan State can do for them.

"We have a great choir⁸ that is an internationally renowned⁹ choir. I would like to see us be the mecca of music."

Jackson is looking forward to what her appearance in today's showcase will do for her in the future.

"It will give me a legacy¹⁰ to pass on to my family," Jackson added.

Reid says the Battle of the Bands showcase is also an opportunity for Morgan State's band program to continue to grow and for his band members to pursue their musical dreams.

"It's going to be a different experience, a different behavior, a different sound, a different look. How they walk, how they sit, how they talk. And that alone is more valuable than anything, just having that experience and exposure."

Regardless of how Morgan State or the other five bands do on Saturday, they share a common bond that makes them special.

"It's the B, the black, (and) HBCU is the B; the blackness is what makes it special," Reid said.

"That music, that grit¹¹. And when I say grit, I mean it's not the limited resources that we often have compared to other institutions. But you wouldn't know it because of the talent. That's why I talk about the B. We just have to find a way to be great. And I think that's what makes us unique and that's what I love about our schools."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

3 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

4 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

8 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

9 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

11 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。