Taylor Thompson, a senior at The Ohio State University, high-steps as he dots the “i” in Script Ohio earlier this year.
(Photo submitted)
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A former Marysville High School (MHS) student will be representing Union County when he dots the “i” in Script Ohio during the Rose Bowl next week.
Taylor Thompson, a senior at The Ohio State University (OSU), has the honor of completing Script Ohio on Jan. 1 in Pasadena, California.
“It’s really unique,” Thompson said.
According to Thompson, all fourth and fifth-year tuba MHS players get their chances throughout the season to dot the “i.” Postseason games, though, are a different story.
Toward the end of the season, typically before the Big 10 Championship, the tuba section has a “dot-off.” Everyone in the section dots the “i,” and then the section votes on who they think was best.
Part of what makes it so special to Thompson is how his section voted him among the best. That kind of honor, he said, isn’t guaranteed.
“It’s kind of like an extra gift,” he said. “I think it’s absolutely incredible.”
While dotting the “i” might seem nerve-wracking, Thompson said the band practices so much it becomes second nature.
“By the time you do it, it’s kind of autopilot,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s studying accounting in school, but that doesn’t mean the band is his only musical endeavor. He’s a bit of a handy man for the OSU band. He works as a brass repair technician for the marching band, and for Buckeye Brass and Winds in Plain City. He also still plays both bass and electric guitar, and he helps with the MHS tuba section in the summer.
Thompson said he’s been playing the tuba since his years at Bunsold Middle School. He played guitar before, but always had an eye for brass instruments.
“I just liked the way they sounded,” Thompson said.
He picked up a tuba, and decided he liked the way it felt.
Music teachers in middle school encouraged him from the beginning.
“They told me that maybe someday I’d dot the ‘i,’” Thompson said.
His chance to fill that role came sooner rather than later, according to Thompson. The Marysville High School Band does its own take on Script Ohio every year, and during his own time at MHS, he got his chance.
He said while other high schools might try Script Ohio, being in the OSU band has made him appreciate how well Marysville does it.
“Especially because they only learn it in one week,” he said.
Thompson said his time in the high school band helped prepare him for his moment next week at the Rose Bowl.
“Not a whole lot of people get that sort of experience,” Thompson said.