Robinson’s marching band and starlets attended the Music Performance Assessments (MPA) at Gaither High School on Oct. 28, where they received an overall superior rating. The marching band, along with those of many other schools in Hillsborough County attend this event every year to showcase the halftime show that they spend all of the summer and fall months perfecting.
“We performed the same show as always, but it got really great because we have done band camps since June and put in around six hours of rehearsal a week since August,” Drum Major Julia Barrett (’24) said. “To prepare for MPA we worked on the final aspects of the show, like musicality, during rehearsals.”
A majority of the members of the marching band are returners, and after dedicating themselves to crafting their shows for years, MPA is an opportunity to see and relish in their growth.
“Doing marching band for four years was not always easy, but being able to say I continuously did it for four years without quitting and have gotten superiors for those four years is rewarding. It was also bittersweet because it was my last one, and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye, but I’ve grown so much through this program and I would do it all over again,” A’mrah Edmond (’24) said.
Bands are assessed on multiple categories, all of which are combined to determine an overall rating. Robinson received a superior rating in the music 1, music 2, visual effect, general effect and percussion categories, and an excellent in the auxiliary category as compared to last year’s rating of straight superiors. Although the rating in one of their categories went down by one rank, they plan to come back next year stronger.
“We worked really hard over the season to earn superior at MPA but we’re aiming to improve our music skills even more over our upcoming concert season and get our newer members more comfortable with their instruments. Along with Mr. Revett’s lessons, we have instructors that will come in through the end of the year,” Catie Powell (’25) said.