By Diane Smith
Record-Courier staff writer
Southeast High School graduate Matthew Heller was always taught to dot his i's and cross his t's.
But next weekend, he will have the high-profile chance to dot the i in "Script Ohio." As a member of The Ohio State Marching Band, Heller will be an "i-dotter" during the biggest game of the year " OSU's match against Michigan.
Proud mom Sharon Heller of Palmyra will be there, as will two of his musical mentors, Martha Hatcher, his piano teacher, and Joni Stoll, band director at Southeast.
As the "i-dotter," Matthew will proceed to the "o" position in the scripted "Ohio," then be retrieved from the lineup by the drum major to dot the i. After the drum major bows backwards, Heller will take off his hat, bow to each side of the stadium and play a solo on his Sousaphone, a type of tuba named for John Phillip Sousa that is carried by members of marching bands.
Heller said her son had been clamoring to play the tuba since he was six years old, watching his older brother play in "Tuba Christmas" in Akron.
"He kept saying, "I want to play Tuba Christmas,' " she said. "At the time, you probably could fit him in the bell of the tuba."
So instead, Matthew started by learning the cornet. Soon, he was able to play the euphonium and became the youngest person to play "Tuba Christmas" in Akron. By fifth grade, he was able achieve his dream of playing the tuba.
As a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ravenna, he and his twin brother, Jacob, provided music for early services. He is a former member of the Akron Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and played in the marching and concert bands at Southeast under Stoll's direction. He also sang in the swing choir under Holly Wickersham and accompanied choirs on the piano. He took piano lessons from Hatcher and eventually went on to teach younger students.
The Ohio State Marching Band is a fiercely competitive group, and many talented musicians do not pass the audition to get into the band, particularly in their first year, Sharon Heller said.
"They don't focus on numbers, they focus on quality," she said.
Two years ago, another area resident, Dan Wanders from Hudson, also dotted the "i" during the big game against Michigan. That performance was broadcast on national television, something Matthew hopes to achieve. He picked the Michigan game in hopes that his friends and family who could not attend the game could watch the broadcast of it.
Sousaphone players in their fourth and fifth years are permitted to dot the i and Matthew got to choose the Michigan game because he holds the top ranking in his section. Matthew earned the ranking even though a collision on the field and the resulting injury caused him to miss rehearsals.
Players earn points based on everything from how many ramp entrances they make to how shiny their instruments are and how clean their uniform is. Once, his mother said, Matthew got in trouble because the kind of razor he used didn't give him a close enough shave.
To ensure that as many of his friends and family could make it to the game as possible, Matthew recruited students who weren't football fans to buy tickets to the game at the special student rate.
All of them had to go to the ticket window at the same time to ensure that the seats were in the same area.
Heller is hosting a post-game reception for her son and his friends and family at a field house near the stadium. There, those who have pre-registered may watch the game, and hopefully "script Ohio," during a live broadcast.
Hatcher said she will try her best to attend the game, and his honored that she was invited to the game. She said she is very proud of her former student, and plans to don a special t-shirt designed by Matthew for his supporters to wear.
"He tried so hard to make that band," she said. "He went down there day after day, and he made it."
Matthew is majoring in landscape architecture and works for fod service, and is head squad leader of the "K" row of the band, a voted position.
His twin is a student at Capital University, a private Lutheran college in the Columbus area, and is studying business finance. Jacob, whose intrument of choice has always been percussion, is a member of two brass bands, the Salvation Army band and the Brass Band of the Western Reserve in Akron.
"Neither of them will ever give up music," Heller said.