By Krista Roberts
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa Marching Band took home five awards, at the South Bay Invitational Field Tournament for its show “Coastal Waters” on Oct. 2.
The Marching Band won three first-place awards for music, general effect, and best overall.
“Clearly, every band member’s hard work paid off at the field tournament and as a drum major, I am extremely proud of the band’s accomplishments,” drum major and senior Zeena Bhakta said. “This taste of success has only further invigorated the band to perform even better in upcoming competitions.”
The band also won two first- place awards in its division for percussion and color guard.
“Color guard has a majority of newcomers this year. The fact that we are performing so well despite having so many first-year team members is really encouraging,” said color guard captain and junior Satkartar Khalsa.
The Marching Band’s show is titled “Coastal Waters.” The performance features the movements Sunset, Shoreline Bonfire, Celestial Reflections and Sunrise, all variations on a tropical theme.
“Sunset shows the changing color of the water as it reflects the sun; Shoreline Bonfire is just after the sun sets and has some tribal-type music and dancing,” assistant drum major and senior Amy Boone said. “Celestial Reflections focuses on the stars and their reflections in the water, as well as Sunrise.”
Ten marching bands participated in the competition, including those from Redondo Union High School, El Segundo High School, and Granada Hills Senior High School. Later this fall, the Marching Band will compete at competitions in Chino, Moorpark and Baldwin Park.
“We’ve lost to some of these high schools in other competitions last year, so it was great see how much we have improved since then,” sophomore Lauren Schnuckel said.
This year, Marching Band director Joel Carlson decided to take a more aggressive, organized approach to practice in order to maximize the band’s benefits. They met three times a week, for a total of six hours, in order to practice for future competitions.
“We worked to create a rehearsal environment where everyone from freshmen to seniors knows the routine inside and out. We hold everyone responsible to perform their best, regardless of their age,” said Carlson. “It puts a lot of pressure on our freshmen, but ultimately when we are performing, nobody will know who is a freshman and who is a senior.”
With their new rehearsal process, which includes singing at practice with the help of choir director Michael Hayden, the Marching Band hopes to continue their recent success in future competitions.
“The Marching Band has changed its rehearsal technique this past year, and it has paid off tremendously. These are the highest awards we have won since any of us have been here, including Mr. Carlson,” Boone said. “Although the awards themselves are not what we are striving for, it is great to have a physical representation of the progress this band has made.”
Leave a Reply