It's been a little while since a new blog post went up . . . and--it's been quite a few weeks!
October is a very busy month for marching band. The football games continue, of course so almost every Friday the band performs a halftime show--either at home or on the road. And after the 2020 season, where we didn't get to travel and each week seemed very unpredictable, we are glad to have as many chances to perform as we can get.
Speaking of more chances to perform? On almost every Saturday in October, the band also travels to a marching band competition. We perform the show and get judged on the quality of the show, the visual and drill, the musicality. It is the band equivalent of a "game" if you like. The band with the highest scores gets recognized, trophies are earned. And the judges give recorded feedback to the band, the percussion, and the color guard so that improvements can be made for the next contest. It's exciting and its fun to travel and hang out with other fans of marching band. And each performance makes our show a bit better.
The Marching Warriors are aiming for two Finals events coming up. On October 30 and 31st, the Ohio Music Educators Association (OMEA) marching band finals will be held in Hilliard, Ohio and Dayton, Ohio. Because the Marching Warriors earned a Superior rating at the Watkins Memorial contest a few weeks ago, we have secured a FInals spot in Hillard on October 30. We are looking forward to doing our best and seeing what we can achieve. The Mid States Band Association (MSBA) Finals is also coming up on Saturday, November 6. Our first contest in October was an MSBA event and we got really good feedback. Next Saturday, October 23rd is another MSBA contest where we hope to demonstrate all that has been learned in October to head into the MSBA November Finals with confidence.
This past Saturday, October 9, Westerville North and Westerville South hosted our own Westerville Invitational competition. We welcomed bands from across Ohio and also got to perform our show again to get judges comments and ratings. I'm so happy to say that the Marching Warriors earned a second Superior rating for its show. Westerville South also get a Superior rating for their 2021 show "A New York State of Mind." Congrats to both band families, especially after spending all day preparing and hosting a complicated tournament for others.
I'm placing the video of the Westerville Invitational "WILD" performance below. I think it demonstrates the skill and confidence that each band member has learned since we began this journey during the Summer.