Marching band has come to an end after a successful field season, and taking its place is indoor
guard and indoor percussion.

The preliminaries for the marching band state championship took place on Oct. 29. This school won first place in the Maryland Marching Band Association (MMBA) Western Regional Championship in the Open-Small class and won the captions of Best Color Guard, Best Overall Effect, Best Music Performance and Best Visual Performance. “I am so proud and happy for these musicians,” marching band teacher Susan Eckerle said in an email she sent to band students on Oct. 30. “Their smiles are contagious and priceless.”

The final marching band field competition was held on Nov. 6 at Towson University. This school won third place in the Open-Small class with a score of 93.15 – ahead of fourth place James M. Bennett High School, who earned a score of 89.2 – and following closely behind second place Tuscarora, who earned a score of 94.05. First place went to Governor Thomas Johnson High School, with a score of 94.95. The marching band also received a reward for the Best Overall Effect.

Members of the marching band say that it is an effective way to build strong friendships. “The band bus to and from competitions is really fun. Even as a relatively quiet person it was fun as other quiet people and I got together and had our own fun in the front of the bus,” freshman clarinetist Christina Chow said.

With field season having come to a close, winter guard season is approaching. Winter guard, also known as the indoor color guard, meets Mondays and Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m.. The first meeting was held on Nov. 28, with the first competition taking place on Feb. 18. There are currently 14 people in winter guard. Winter percussion is also a small group of about 11 people.

For their first competition, indoor guard is preparing a routine for “I Stay Away” by Alice In Chains, a grunge song. The routine follows a plot about a group of people being sent to a summer camp and held against their wishes, and must then figure out how to escape. “I’m really excited for the show and competitions as we did very well during field season,” freshman indoor guard member Summer Yao said. “Color guard and winter guard is a wonderful experience that bonded me with a group of people that I’m very close with.”

Meanwhile, indoor percussion is preparing a show for a piece called “Edge of Tomorrow” composed by Jerbrel M. Bowens, which features all kinds of percussion instruments, skills and techniques. “I’m feeling great about the upcoming season. It’s a pretty awesome experience all around and it’s been a great start so far,” freshman percussionist Adrian Alagic said.

Field season of marching band will start up again in April. Until then, winter guard and winter percussion will be hard at work rehearsing and competing.

Editor’s note: the original version of this article has been updated based on new information.