On September 24, Leesville Road High School’s marching band had their first competition of the year at Pinecrest High School. The hard working Leesville band members won first place in all of their events.
The band has been practicing for the school year since the middle of July, having summer rehearsals for three hours a few days each week. There were also two camps, over the summer, for band members to attend to get an early start at rehearsing music pieces and to practice marching. The band has fourth period practice everyday and they don’t stop there; they also have to meet before school to rehearse from 6:35 a.m. until 7:15 a.m.
“I think we did really well compared to where we were when we first started. The new girls [on color guard] were pretty nervous but they kicked it up to gear as soon as we got out there,” said Megan Oliveira, Leesville junior and color guard member.
Band competitions are a day long event starting from 9:30 a.m. and finishing at 12:30 a.m. There are many different categories that Leesville competed in: drum major, percussion, color guard, marching, general effect, and music.
“I love seeing the joy of my students when they experience success [and] seeing their faces when they know they did a good job. Whether or not that’s with a trophy or whether it’s after the performance and they know they did really well. To me that’s my favorite part of the competition, seeing them so excited,” said Alyssa Montgomery, band director.
The band also received a special award known as the Superintendent’s Award, given to the band for showing great character throughout the day.
With a win under their belt to start of their competition season, they have high goals to aim for during the remainder of their competitions. Their next one-on-one competition is on October 8 against Butler High School.
