by Jordan Evans

World Editor

Now, in the thick of competition season, the LGHS Wildcat Marching Band and Color Guard is paving the way to success. Despite a rocky start, the band has gradually been improving its rankings among other wildly competitive ensembles.

The marching band has officially learned its entire show, consisting of four distinct movements. As the performance progresses, the marchers gradually make their way from the right to the left side of the field. This symbolizes the show’s theme, which is about journeying westward across America and discovering its freedoms. At the end, all marchers complete their travels by rushing westward along the track of numerous railroad props. Now that they know all of their drill, the members are currently working to clean their forms and perfect their music. With many competitions drawing nearer, every member finds something to fix to make the show look and sound as dazzling as possible.

On Sat., Oct. 22, the band competed at its second competition of the season at San Jose State. LG typically competes through Western Band Association (WBA), a circuit which has its own set of rules and scoring rubrics. This show, however, was staged by Bands of America, a more prestigious circuit with stricter rules and a demanding rubric. Bands of America (BOA) organizes its categories differently, classifying a band based on the school’s enrollment of 10 – 12 graders instead of its band size, like WBA does. LG normally performs in class 4A, but at San Jose, it was in category AAA. Competing in this circuit was an experiment to see how LGHS would compare to the higher caliber bands that routinely compete through BOA.

The Wildcat Marching Band unfortunately placed last against five other bands in its division. The band scored 63.4 points, missing fifth place by a mere 1.25 points. However, to be able to perform at par with such talented bands in an environment like BOA was a tremendous success for LG. Out of the 19 total bands present at the competition, LGHS scored thirteenth overall, a success that the band had not anticipated.

The following weekend, on Oct. 29, the band and guard travelled to Dublin in the East Bay. Back in the familiar territory of WBA, LGHS anticipated a strong outcome at this competition, and our marchers didn’t disappoint. The Wildcat Marching Band snagged second place, beating out tough competitors Los Altos and Westmont High Schools. LGHS scored 71.3 points, an unprecedented improvement in such a short amount of time. Only James Enochs High School from Modesto scored higher, besting LGHS by only 1.1 points. The band also received the High Music caption award, which acknowledges the superior composition and cohesion of every musical part.

With just two competitions left, the band has its nose to the grindstone, eagerly preparing for its next performances.