Marching band receives Division I at State

Marrisa Nunez photo

Every day during 4th hour, strains of Beatles music drift across the football field. Last Saturday, the CFHS marching band performed at the State Contest at Waterloo Central Middle School. Cedar Falls performed at 2:35 with their Beatles Medley that included “Magical Mystery Tour,” “Lady Madonna,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Blackbird,” “Yesterday,” “Something” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

At the contest, four adjudicators judged different aspects of the performances: music execution, music general effect, marching and maneuvering execution, and marching and maneuvering general effect. All four judges awarded the band Division I ratings in all the sections of their ballots.

“I was really proud of the band and really proud of our scores,” junior John Nicol said. Mostly, the band enjoys going to contest. Senior Holly Prohaska said the contest is a “good goal to shoot for” and that it’s good to “get opinions from the judges.”

Both Nicol and Prohaska said they felt that the band was prepared for contest. Band Instructor Gerald Ramey echoed their statements. “The Tiger Marching Band performed very well,” Ramsey said. “We finished learning the last part of the drill on Monday before contest, so we had the rest of the week to polish our performance. With five full days of school, beautiful weather and very focused band members, it was a very productive week for the development of our show.”

During marching band season, the CFHS band rehearses during 4th hour and 5A. On the Thursdays before the first three home football games, the band rehearses for 45 minutes in the UNI-Dome, starting at 6:30 a.m. The Drumline also holds a sectional on Tuesday evenings, and Color Guard rehearses on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour and a half.

After the last football game, marching band ends, and the band transitions into concert band. With the formation of jazz ensembles and All-State coming soon, the band has plenty to look forward to throughout the year. “This year’s band has brought as much focus to every rehearsal as any group we’ve had,” Ramsey said. “It’s a great band of musicians to work with.”