What is the ‘Pit’ or ‘Front Ensemble’ ?
Karina Varner2019-09-05T16:20:39-07:00Marching band evolved from military bands and parade bands. Everyone moved, and all instruments were carried. As recently as the early 1980s, bands and drum corps still carried bells, xylophones, and even timpani (1 per player) on and off the field. As field pageantry became more theatrical and moved beyond traditional Sousa march music, composers and arrangers liked the idea of using more orchestral percussion instruments. Thankfully, they started parking the large instruments on the front sideline, to contribute to the musical score, but not necessarily be a big part of the visual production… like a ‘pit orchestra’ in music theatre. [...]