With a stunning score of 80.625, Ridge Marching Band clinched their second first place trophy of the year during last weekend’s marching band competition in Somerville, beating out three other groups for the win. If that wasn’t enough, this musical menagerie also snagged every single one of the caption awards, such as “Best Percussion,” “Best Color Guard,” “Best Music,” “Best Overall Effect,”and more.
“I am proud of every individual in the band. It’s their self-motivation and dedication to the program that allows us to perform as well as we can,” explains Head Drum Major Bianca Jurewicz ‘15.
Theshow this year, themed “playing with fire”, incorporates a variety of music styles in a loose ABAB format (or synchysis for all you Latin buffs). It opens with “The Games Begin,” from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, by James Newton Howard. Part two transitions into the instrumental versions of the ever-popular “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys, “Fire” by Jimi Hendrix, and “Infernal Dance” from The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky. The third part of the show returns to another musical score from Catching Fire, “The Tour”. Finally, they close with something classical – “The Finale” from The Firebird Suite and “Kingfishers Catch Fire” by John Mackey.
“I think that Marching Band is a great activity that lets anyone interested in music try something new and participate in a successful and rewarding club,” says Pit Percussion section leader Milli Langston ‘16. For anyone who has any doubts about Marching Band’s qualifications as a sport, she quickly puts them to rest: “Even though there’s different definitions as to what activities may qualify as a ‘sport,’ marching band definitely requires a lot of dedication and time. We sometimes have a 14 hour day on a Saturday competition, or end up performing at 11:30 PM and not getting home until 1:00 AM.”
Being a part of Ridge Marching Band isn’t all work, though. The people make it an incredibly rewarding experience (and Marching Band members also get to take a trip to Disney). Drumline section leader Josh Kluger ‘15 confides, “Marching band gave me a family outside of my family. I was able to meet different people from different grades, and have new experiences along the way.”
The fiery winning streak of Ridge Marching Band seems to be attributed to the powerful bonds between the band members and their dedication to their performance.