Justin Mertz likes to tell the Syracuse University Marching Band to “earthbend.”

During their pregame shows, the students perform a move that involves stepping out with their right foot and punching the air with their instruments in hand, a move similar to “earthbending,” a concept from an animated show, “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

Mertz, the director of the Syracuse University Marching Band, is a big fan of the show and said he likes to use pop culture references to teach his students techniques and drill.

This fall marks the beginning of Mertz’s 10th season as director of the Syracuse University Marching Band. As director, Mertz’s duties include administering, recruiting for and running the rehearsals of the marching band. The rehearsals can run from six to 10 hours every week.

“A lot of my teaching is metaphor and analogy,” Mertz said. “It’s using things that students already know in order to get them to do something new.”

An alumnus of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Mertz was also actively involved in the marching band during his time at college, joining when he was a freshman. After graduating in 2001, he taught music in public schools and received his master’s degree in music education, also from SU, before he was hired to work as director in 2005.

Because of his connection to the band, Mertz said he always strives to ensure that the students perform at the highest level.

“Being an alum and being the director of the band that I was a part of gives me an extra sense of responsibility,” Mertz said. “I know what it means to be a member of SUMB, and I feel like I serve the university by making sure it’s the best it can be.”

When Mertz was in college, he was a drum major under Bradley Ethington, the previous director of the SU Marching Band. Now, Ethington and Mertz work side by side at the Setnor School of Music as director and assistant director of bands, respectively.

“I’ve known Mertz for probably 18 years now,” Ethington said. “Ever since he left SU, we’ve stayed in touch, and we’ve become great colleagues and also great friends.”

Ethington, who has been working at SU for 20 years, said Mertz was hired as the director of marching band because his great reputation as an undergraduate and experience in music made him the strongest candidate.

Ten years later, Ethington said that Mertz’s success as a band director stems from his enthusiasm, talent and organizational skills. He plans rehearsals down to the last minute and is responsible for managing the band’s busy schedule.

The SUMB is comprised of about 200 students from every college of SU, with dozens of majors represented. With such a big group of students, Mertz provides comprehensive leadership training for section leaders and music instructors to lead their respective instrumental sections.

These 34 students work under Mertz and are responsible for teaching their sections the music and making sure everyone is prepared for marching and performing.

“I am so proud of the fact that we operate this way because it shows ownership on the field,” Mertz said. “I rely on this student leadership.”

One of these students is Sangmi Borneman, a section leader for the alto saxophones.  Borneman said Mertz is very enthusiastic about the student leadership aspect of the marching band and always give insight on how they can improve themselves and their work.

“He’s very interested in what we have to say,” the senior music education major said. “He’s very collaborative with us, so it’s very nice to be able to work with a director who listens to our ideas.”

Mertz also pays very close attention to detail, which proves useful when giving feedback to a large band. She said Mertz gives both praise and suggestions for improvement, but never lowers his expectation of hard work from his students.

In addition to the section leaders are three drum majors, one of which is Anthony Veiga, a senior music education major. Veiga said his role is a hybrid of the section leaders and music instructors, focusing on both the music instruction and show preparation aspects of the band.

From Veiga’s perspective, Mertz does a good job of balancing the roles of director and friend with the students in the marching band. He said Mertz knows how to be professional but is notoriously known for constantly using humor in his teaching and teasing his students.

“He’s just kind of like the biggest nerd in the whole world, telling jokes all the time,” Veiga said. “He’s very personable with everyone and even if he’s 50 yards away, he still does a good job of pointing people out and knowing their name.”

Mertz considers the marching band students the finest students on campus and loves seeing them grow and develop as musicians.

“They don’t receive any benefits from being in marching band, other than the educational, social and musical experience they get,” Mertz said. “They love making music, and I could not be more proud of them.”

 

Published on September 2, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Clare: clramire@syr.edu