In the last competition of the year Tigard High Band dominated. They showed how hard work pays off in the end when they received a score of 79.6 in their competition on Saturday landing them 10th place and making them the Tri-State Class A champions.
“I think it (championships) was our best competition yet. We wanted to give it everything we had” stated Junior Kayla Keer.
For the marchers of the band it is a never ending week of music and perfecting even the smallest errors. The started work in August and haven’t stopped since then. The theme “Anything Can Happen” was created by most of the Marching Band staff. They hire approximately 5 to 7 people each year to come and help with the different sections that make up the band. However,less people were needed this year because the band is a lot smaller than it was last year although there are a lot of new faces.
“There are a lot of new people this year. It was really difficult doing new things because we (the veterans to the program) had to teach them everything.” Said Freshman Lizzy Gauthier who was part of the program as an eighth grader. Along with the new people came a new group dynamic that was described as “a lot different than last year”.
“We are definitely more cooperative” added Junior Quinn Johnston.
Although they had to get up as early as 4:30 a.m. they all still showed up to every competition with a smile on their faces ready to start the long day of waiting and wondering. However it wasn’t much wondering after a few competitions. They soon started to see that their show was going to do very well. No matter how hard they worked they would always find time for the fun stuff.
“We have a pit party after every performance. We go ‘whooo!’” said Sophomore McKenna Wiltbank after the bands first performance at the McKenzie Classic at Hillsboro Stadium.
Their show incorporates several familiar themes such as the Simpsons Theme and Do-Re-Mi. They end the show by playing Imagine by John Lennon and the band lays in a peace sign on the ground with the Color Guard at the back with their flags blowing in the wind. This,at almost every competition, is one of the things that helps them win High Visual Effects and much more.
Although the outdoor marching has come to an end the band is already preparing for the indoor year and what it holds. After the amazing season they have had they wonder how Winterguard will go but who knows, anything can happen.