This hurricane season has been incredibly dangerous, with houses destroyed, neighborhoods flooded, and severe weather making it unsafe to be outside.
It’s safe to say that the storms have been catastrophic for many outdoor activities, including ones that may not immediately come to mind. Marching band has been heavily affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton, leading to competitions on both Oct. 4 at Seminole and Oct. 12 at Gaither being cancelled.
“Marching band competitions bring the entire band together,” Brennan Baryza (’27) said. “Competitions are the chance to show all the work we’ve put into the show and get feedback to continue and grow.”
In marching band, competitions are the end goal, with football games simply serving as a live-action practice. Competitions can bring national recognition to a band program and allow the marching band to be rewarded for their hard work. Additionally, at the competitions, bands are subject to the scrutiny of judges who provide value feedback to the competitors about their shows. Without competitions, however, bands have no way of demonstrating their skills and trying their talents against other schools, preventing bands from improving from the knowledge of the judges and the competition of others.
“These competitions are like our playoffs, and we were all pretty upset to hear they were cancelled,” baritone captain Sophia Wolfson (’26) said. “We spend a lot of time preparing for these events.”
Marching competitions are long, all-day affairs, often taking places an hour or more away. They also serve to increase the bonds between members of the band, as they compete as a team. They also provide an outlet for the hard work of the members.
“It’s hard to keep rehearsing and rehearsing just to perform,” said Christopher Revett, Director of the bands. “The band has been working really hard, and they’ve done a good job of recovering from when we’ve missed time,” said Revett.
Despite the setbacks posed by the hurricanes, Revett seems confident in his band’s ability to perform under the scrutiny of judges. Revett, and the band as a whole seem to be eagerly anticipating their next opportunity to exhibit their show.
The band’s next event, Music Performance Assessment (MPA), is Saturday Oct. 26.