Virginia International Tattoo: The Man in Command

Robert Szabo strikes up the band this weekend in a big way.

A wave of his baton will awaken a cast of almost 900 performers including military bands, color guards, a choir, Highland dancers, drill teams and bagpipers at the Virginia International Tattoo.

The soul-stirring performances Friday through Sunday at Norfolk's Scope serve as the Virginia Arts Festival's signature event. It is a display of flashy costumes, uniforms from seven countries and an array of cultural diversity accompanied by patriotic tunes.

Szabo will wear a dress uniform replete with shiny brass buttons, medals and white gloves as he stands on a 3-foot podium to marshal a wall of energy and sound.

"I will be the one who drops the hands and gives that big downbeat, and WHAM-O comes the sound from that massed band," Szabo said. "It absolutely is a highlight of my career to do this."

He's an active Marine chief warrant officer. "I tell everybody I have the best of both worlds. I'm a Marine first, and we can get behind some weapons and really create some damage, but at the same time we can get behind some instruments and go to the other extreme, too."

A few days before the performances, Szabo, wearing blue jeans and T-shirt, headed a rehearsal in one of Scope's spacious back rooms. About 200 brass, drum and woodwind musicians played through arrangements as the sound of bagpipes wafted in from down the hall.

"You did a good job following me," he said, silencing them. "Now each has a little more energy. One, two, three and... "

This is Szabo's third year as the event's principal director of music. He participated in the Tattoo with the Quantico Marine Corps Band for years before that.

He and director Scott Jackson had already decided on the arrangements for the big opening and finale. Individual ensembles choose what they will perform, but the directors don't want any duplication. With France designated as the most honored nation this year, the event will feature many arrangements written by French composers.

"I use my background knowledge to say this is something that can be done very well with a brass and woodwind band, or this might be better than the other, or this piece is going to have more of an impact, let's do this," he said.

The show's opening features about 350 performers, and the finale brings out all 900 at the same time.

"Some of the greatest performers ever were the old vaudeville performers, and they knew the immutable laws of great perfor-mances," Jackson said. "They always said, 'Hit them hard in the beginning, back off and then kill them in the end.' And that's how we do it."

This is the largest annual tattoo held in the United States. This year it features six bands, the most in its history.

Each year brings the challenge of pulling off the production - including banks of speakers, video screens and 400 lights - for a discerning audience.

"It is so militarily precision-guided that it does come off the way we intend. Everything is just so well oiled and just moves smoothly. Everybody knows their role," Szabo said.

Szabo is stationed at Cherry Point, N.C., as the director and officer in charge of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band. During his commutes to Norfolk, he listens to everything from country to classical.

"And, of course, very traditional patriotic band music," he added.

The Tattoo has become a family affair for Szabo. His four sons, ages 15 to 23, always attend, and his wife and one of his sons work on the stage crew. Through the years his sons have seen many of his performances, but "this is the show they want to come to every year."

The end of each show is special to Szabo, but it is often tough.

"I remember thinking last year, if I didn't conduct a single thing after that, that memory will stay with me forever," Szabo said. "When you start coming down after about a week, you are like, 'OK, I can't wait till next year.' "

Roy Bahls, (757) 446-2351, roy.bahls@pilotonline.com