On a cool day with rain threatening, the GVHS marching band took the field at Hershey stadium at 9:35am, in class "Patriot A", and performed the last judged performance of Grace's high school career. I'm not sure how we got to this point so fast...
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| Ready to start the show |
Grace helps conduct the first and second movements from the right side-stand.
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| Beginning of the 3rd movement, Grace on the stand |
...and then conducts the third movement from the center stand.
The full performance is HERE. Grace takes the center stand at 5:15 and conducts to the end...
I'm totally biased, but the third movement is the most musically complicated, and Grace nails it.
The GVHS marching band is in a transitional period of trying to rebuild the program as a competitive entity. These things don't happen overnight, and must be considered in the perspective of it being a multi-year endeavor.
At the Conestoga competition we scored a 34.x, which is not a fabulous score from a competitive band standpoint. At this Hershey competition, we scored a 37.x. While not a top-tier score from an objective/competitive sense, it is the best score that the GVHS band has recorded in at least the last 6-7 years. And it is a nice accomplishment for a band that is trying to find its identity balancing the desire to be competitive with the reality of accepting all band members who want to participate.
As a band parent riding buses to away games and competitions these last 4 years, I have had the opportunity to discuss the "competitive band" versus the "take all comers" band philosophy with the Director on many occasions. His perspective, which I agree with, is that we need to try to be the best band we can be, with the implicit limitation/consideration that many of our band members also participate in various sports and other activities. One of our drum majors is a tennis team player. One is a wrestling team member. One (mine) is a drama club choreographer and lead performer. Numerous members of the band have other activities. If you want to accommodate those other interests, you don't get to dictate that these kids do band as their first priority and nothing else. Some schools do. And those schools will likely always score better than our band.
But I digress, as I generally do. Our band went to the Hershey finals. They did great. And my little girl stood on the center stand and conducted the third movement. And they got the highest score that a GVHS band has gotten in at least 6 or 7 years...
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