Student, alumni musicians prep for Rayen Stadium opener

By DENISE DICK

denise_dick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

It’s been a long time since 2001 Rayen School graduate Christina Ashford played a flute.

“Yesterday they thought I was texting,” she said, picking up her smartphone. “I was looking up a fingering chart.”

Ashford is one of the players in the city schools’ student/alumni band slated to perform at the halftime show of the Aug. 25 opening football game at the newly renovated Rayen Stadium, the city’s only home field. East High School faces Ursuline.

“I hope some more people from my class show up,” Ashford said. “When I was at Rayen, the band room was full.”

One reason she decided to come back to play was she wanted to work again with Edward Arrington II, who’s directing the student/alumni band. Daniel Gall, band director at the Chaney Visual and Performing Arts Campus, is assisting.

Arrington served as the city schools’ instrumental music director from 1989 to 2001. From 2001 until his 2007 retirement, he worked in the same position at Canton City Schools.

He’s part of the reason Larazia Tolbert, 14, a ninth-grader at Chaney, wanted to be in the halftime show.

Both of her parents, her mother in the orchestra at the former Wilson and South high schools, and her father in the band at South, worked under Arrington and speak highly of him.

“He’s nice and he’s fun, but when it comes down to playing, he gets down to business,” said Larazia, who plays saxophone.

She and Tyaonnia Fox-Davis, 14, a sophomore at Chaney and another saxophonist, say they got involved believing it would be a good experience. It will mark Larazia’s first foray into marching.

“We’ll be the first ones to march on the field,” Tyaonnia said.

Halftime selections include “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “Buckeye Battle Cry” and “Gonna Make You Sweat.”

Arrington tries to teach performers to play the national anthem with reverence.

“You can tell how well a band is trained by the way they play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’” he said.

Attendance to the daytime rehearsals has been scant, but Arrington said more come in the evening. Weekday rehearsals run from 9 a.m. to noon with evening sessions from 5 to 8 p.m.

But Arrington said people who want to participate still can. Next week is when the show will really start to come together.

So far, the oldest alumni in the band are Class of 1994 graduates, Arrington said.

Some of the younger members may be intimidated about learning and memorizing new music and marching while performing.

He assures them they can do it.

“They can do more than they think they can do,” Arrington said. “Students do exactly what you expect them to do. If you expect nothing, that’s exactly what you’re going to get. Here the bar is set high.”