The Live Oak Emerald Regime marching band will begin the defense of its Class 2A state championship this Saturday at Gilroy High School in the first of five Western Band Association competitions.
Tagged the Gilroy Garlic Classic 2013, which is broken into five different classes based on band size, the competition will feature performances from Live Oak High School’s finest musicians as well as those from Santa Clara, Madero, Reno, Los Gatos, Los Banos and Evergreen Valley.
Gates open at 3:45 p.m. and the competition kicks off at 4:25 p.m. Admission is $8 and free for military service members in uniform and children under 5.
The Emerald Regime, which performs at home football games at Live Oak High School, has won state titles five of the last six years, under director Jason Locsin, a 2002 Live Oak High School alumnus.
The Western Band Association, originally the Western Scholastic Marching Band Conference, was formed in 1979 by a group of band directors from Northern and Central California, including Mike Rubino of Live Oak High School, with a goal “to create an educationally based competitive performance opportunity.”
According to the WBA website, 12,000 students in 110 membership bands perform annually in 17 shows plus a championship competition. WBA also offers $6,500 in scholarships each year.
