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Sconyers to be on 'Paula's Party'
Sconyers entered the University of Georgia in the fall of 2003. He auditioned for the Redcoat Band in April 2003, and received his invitation to join the Redcoats on the same day he graduated from Swainsboro High School. When he began rookie band camp in August 2003, he had no idea what wonderful experiences would be in store for him as a Redcoat. Having been a member of the Swainsboro High School Band of Gold, he knew that being in a college band would require many hours of practice and hard work in preparation for performances. He was still surprised by the length and intensity of preparation for performances, and the extremely high caliber of students who were accepted into the band. During his five years as a Redcoat, he has traveled to almost every stadium in the Southeastern Conference. On game day, when the Redcoats travel to out-oftown games, they begin as early at 6 a.m. and return home as late as 7 a.m. the next morning. The Redcoats, directors, staff, nurse, photographer, videographer, and prop crew travel in eight chartered buses followed by three large equipment trucks. When the Bulldogs play between the hedges in Athens, band members report to practice around 7 a.m. and often practice until time for the "Dog Walk." As a member of the Redcoat Band, Jay has traveled to four bowl games. Two in Tampa, one in Orlando, and to the Sugar Bowl in 2005 at the Atlanta Dome. He has also been a member of the Pep Band, known as the Derbys, for the past four years. The Derbys is composed of a small group of upperclassmen from the Redcoats who travel to out of town games that are too far away for the entire band to attend. These are usually overnight trips. The Derbys are frequently asked to perform at special tailgate gatherings and other University functions. Each year, the Redcoats make their annual pilgrimage to Florida for the Georgia Florida game in Jacksonville. The band leaves early on Thursday morning, and travels to Waycross where they put on a marching band exhibition for high school bands that afternoon. Then, on to St. Augustine where they stay during the weekend. After a weekend filled with practice, lots of fun, tailgating, and a big rivalry game, they return home on Sunday to begin preparation for the next Redcoat halftime performance. In the fall of 2003, Sconyers joined the UGA Basketball Pep Band. This small group of Redcoats perform at all home games for both the men's and women's basketball teams. In March of 2004, Jay was in a group from the Pep Band that followed the Women's Basketball Team to the national semi-finals in Philadelphia. In June 2006, he was fortunate to travel with the Redcoat Band to China for 16 days. They were invited as guests of the Chinese government as a part of a cultural exchange program. While in China, the band visited 12 provinces. They performed for thousands in soccer stadiums and other venues throughout China for a total of 16 shows. The highlight of the trip for Sconyers was getting to direct five Chinese folk songs he had written the arrangements for in the program. The Redcoats were awed by the reception of the Chinese audiences in each venue. The people were fascinated by the appearance of the Americans and were amazed by the shows. They lined the streets to see the Americans, get their pictures made with them, and get their autographs. While in China, they visited the Great Wall, the Chinese Circus, the Panda Zoo, the Bamboo Farms and other places of interest. In small groups, each band member was invited to visit a local family and eat a meal with them. The family Jay's group visited served them their specialty appetizer of...boiled peanuts! Jay reports that the food was pretty good most of the time, but some was very odd and unusual. (There were Pizza Huts and Mc- Donald's along the way, so no one went hungry.) From the time the band members left Atlanta until they returned, they traveled 25,000 miles and boarded and deboarded planes 23 times. Band Director Dr. David Romines said "after visiting China with 315 band members, going to Jacksonville will never be a logistical problem again." When Jay returned from China, he was offered a position in the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corp. After two days at home, he joined Carolina Crown in Fort Mill, S.C. to begin preparation for a 64- day tour of the United States with Drum Corp International. During the tour, he visited and performed in 25 states with Carolina Crown. Drum and Bugle Corps compete against each other throughout the summer, and end with finals where the most outstanding corps are judged. Carolina Crown placed seventh in the world in 2005. Exhausted and excited, Jay flew home from Chicago the day after DCI finals to begin another year with the Redcoats. Jay's love for the marching band has only grown since his experience with DCI. In November 2006, Jay auditioned and earned a place in the of University Chamber Singers Low Bass section, a choral group of 25 singers who perform in venues in Germany and Austria every-other summer. In June 2007, the Chamber Singers flew from Atlanta to Paris to Berlin and toured for 12 days before returning to the USA. While in Germany and Austria, they toured many historical sites of special interest to musicians. Jay, the son of Julian and Norma Sconyers of Swainsboro, is a third year Music Education major at UGA and would like to arrange music and write drills for high school and college bands as a career. Recently, Jay has enjoyed the opportunity to arrange some stand music for the Redcoat Band. Only two other Emanuel County residents, Robert Agress and Ennis Bragg, have been members of the Redcoat Band.
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