You don’t see the pack of musicians and color guard that takes the field to perform after months of practice.
And you don’t hear the music blasting from the 40, the 30, the 20.
You miss it. But they don’t.
Today, “they” are hundreds of high school marching band members competing for the prize at the 29th annual Michigan Competing Band Association State Finals at Ford Field.
And winning doesn’t just mean they sound good. Victory is proof that they can march, play and carry out choreography over the length of a football field all at the same time and do it better than everyone else. They use props and sets–sometimes elaborate, sometimes as simple as umbrellas–to compliment the music, which spans from rock to classical.
Today’s competition includes the top 10 MCBA high school marching bands in each of four flights, which are based upon school enrollment numbers. Flight IV played first, representing school enrollments of up to 794 students, followed by Flight III beginning at 1:10 p.m., Flight II at 4:35 p.m. and Flight I at 8 p.m.
Awards are presented after each flight, limiting the anticipation to a couple of hours.
Many bands sit in the stands after they finish performing on the field. Members of the Grant High School marching band said they watch other shows while they wait for their scores, paying attention to the music, marching and props used by other bands.
“I’m more excited than nervous,” said Christina Islas, a 17-year-old senior and member of the color guard, adding that the GHS color guard–a group of visual performers which supplements the musicians’ performance–has been practicing since March.
This is Grant’s second year at the state finals. They scored a 10th place ranking in last year’s competition, and in the spirit of improvement, members had already critiqued this year’s performance.
“It was a little off in the beginning,” said 16-year-old junior Courtney Jensen, a trombone player. “But it recovered really well.”
Grant scored a 5th place ranking today, moving up five spots from last year. And the cheering sections weren’t shy at the announcement.
Crowds of parents, friends and relatives showed their support of different schools with posters, pompoms and cars painted with school spirit.
But they weren’t the only viewers enjoying the show.
Joyce LePage of Shelby Twp. brought her 12-year-old son, Ben, to watch all the bands. They’re not rooting for any one school.
“It’s just fun,” LePage said, adding that she decided to bring her son–who plays percussion in the Shelby Junior High band–after a coworker told her about the competition.
Performances continue until 10:30 p.m. today. Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for students and seniors and are available (cash-only) at Ford Field all day. For more information, go to http://www.michcompband.org/Championships/championships2007.html.