Sir Elton John probably said it best: “Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours.”

In this COVID-19 world, we all can use some soothing music.

The Cranston High School East Thunderbolt Marching Band and its director, Greg Arsenault, were able to “compete” virtually this year in the USBands National Championships on Nov. 7.

There were 90 bands in three different competitive classes – standstill/pep bands, creative class, and marching ensembles.

“We competed in creative class, a new category for creative audio/video productions,” Arsenault said. “We placed ninth in our class and scored an 83.75, receiving an ‘outstanding’ rating from the adjudicators. It was quite a process to put together our production of ‘Escazu.’ We faced restrictions due to the pandemic and had all of our rehearsals virtually. The students rehearsed and recorded their parts individually then I put them together as an audio/video presentation. I’m very proud of how the students kept engaged and committed to putting this production together.”

Senior students truly felt the loss of live performing.

“Competing without an audience is incomparable to the feeling of performing with one. There’s absolutely nothing like the feeling of hundreds of people cheering for you after an amazing, exhausting field show,” said David Scarborough, low brass captain. “However, I still enjoy playing and competing with the virtual competition because even though we don’t have that thrill of playing on the field, playing something is better than nothing.”

Scarborough also offered some advice to the up-and-coming younger musicians, and his views on the importance of music.

“To younger students, the key is to stay motivated by the idea that it will get better eventually,” he said. “Even though things aren’t great right now, they will soon get to experience the wonders of marching band like we did. It kept me motivated to return for years, and I hope it does for them too. In my day-to-day life, music has still held an important place, even though we aren’t practicing even close to the amount of hours that we have in years past. I am still getting better at my instrument, and I am able to focus more on playing musically rather than performing loud while marching around.”

The band also competed on Saturday, Nov. 14, in the USBands Finale.

“In the USBands Grand Finale, the Thunderbolt Band placed eight out of nine with an ‘outstanding; rating and a score of 84.75,” Arsenault said. “I am especially proud that we were able to persevere through challenging circumstances, rehearsing virtually since August, and keeping the competitive spirit alive during this difficult time.”

Percussion captain Kaitlyn Schmitz offered her take on music.

“To compete without an audience, well, it was an interesting experience at that. I enjoyed the feeling of performing, of letting my music inspire the audience around me. It didn’t feel as special,” she said. “The best advice I can give to younger students is to just try their best. Music has been very important to my day-to-day life. Being able to pick up an instrument and play a tune or listen to a song can be great for de-stressing. Music is an escape into another world, one without COVID and the stress of life. Everyone has their escape, and music has been mine.”

Drum major Will Hardy truly felt the loss of live performances.

“Competitions this year haven’t really felt like competitions because all of the recordings we send out for competitions are done well in advance,” he said. “When you’re just recording parts at home you can have multiple takes so there really isn’t any of the pressure or adrenaline that you usually feel during a competition. Music has been helpful for me this year because it’s so different from all of the other classes I’m taking virtually so it makes the day more interesting. Online classes can be exhausting, and any change of pace is always nice.”

Arsenault wanted to give a personal special shout-out to the Thunderbolt Band seniors – Vladimir Hakobyan, drum major William Hardy, Valoric Julian, trumpet captain Samuel Kristiansen, woodwinds captain Patrick Maguire, Andrew Maldonado, low brass captain David Scarborough and percussion captain Kaitlyn Schmitz.

They are planning to put together a virtual winter concert in the next two months as well.

To see the band’s performance of “Escazu,” visit www.youtu.be/CMo2gRCTgVk.