Brisk weather, warm cheers and 17 marching bands had everyone
feeling fine at Gilroy High Saturday night.
Morgan Hill
Brisk weather, warm cheers and 17 marching bands had everyone feeling fine at Gilroy High Saturday night.
Live Oak High School’s Emerald Regime, from Morgan Hill, won best in class while the Gilroy High School Mustangs raced away with percussion honors at the 15th annual Western Band Association high school marching band and color guard competition.
An autumn chill made it tough to keep the tubas in tune, but sousaphone player Mario Naranjo said the warm crowd compensated for the cool weather.
“This was my best show in four years,” the Gilroy high senior said after the band’s show on the school’s football field. “Performing in front of our home crowd was really a great experience … especially because this is my senior year.”
Hundreds of spectators attended the four-hour competition. The event featured bands from throughout the Bay Area and Central Valley, squaring off in five divisions of competition.
Each band performed a 10-minute repertoire with customized themes and exacting drills.
During the show, Gilroy’s 52-member band presented songs from hit musicals the “Wizard of Oz,” the “Wiz” and the “Wicked.” After some early jitters, the group found its comfort zone.
“For our first (competitive) performance of the year, we’re pretty happy with it,” said Gilroy band director Joey Fortino. “The kids really worked their tails off this week to get ready, and we had a couple of extra rehearsals to work on some of the segments.”
After finishing first in their division in 2002, the Mustangs are hoping for another strong finish this year at the Western Band Association championships.
The division championships are held Nov. 17 in Woodland Hills. The top bands advance to the grand championships, Nov. 18, at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park.
Saturday’s exhibition was a chance for bands to hone their acts leading up to the finals, and receive valuable feedback from expert judges.
Each band was graded on music, marching, visual effect, percussion and color guard.
Showing why they’re perennial champs among the larger bands, James Logan High School from Union City outscored everyone.
Also poised to make a run at this year’s championships is the celebrated Emerald Regime. The Live Oak band placed first in its division in 2004 and 2005, pulling off a second-place finish in 2006.
Saturday, the Regime lived up to its lofty reputation with a bold show entitled “Theatre of Darkness” featuring songs by famous Hollywood composer Danny Elfman.
The 46-member band wowed onlookers with the main score from Spiderman II, a version of the “Ice dance” from Edward Scissorhands and three songs from the film Sleepy Hollow.
“It’s all dark music,” said band director Greg Bergantz, crediting assistant Nick Rodriguez for the musical arrangement. “It’s a challenging show in terms of drill and music. These are definitely new rhythms that they’re playing.”
Performing in the small-band division, both Live Oak and Gilroy faced competition from Arroyo, Astascadero and Fresno.
It was a good night for the hometown Mustangs, who outscored the field in the percussion category and placed second overall.
But the Mustangs couldn’t out-drill their near-by rivals from Morgan Hill. The mighty Regime took first place in the grouping with the most visually impressive show, according to the judges.
Hordes of Live Oak supporters welcomed their band on the Mustangs’ turf. But the atmosphere in general was collegial at the Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
“I feel pretty good about it,” said Live Oak junior Thomas Parker, who plays vibraphone and other mallet percussion instruments. “We had jitters, but overall it was good. But we can do better.”
Crisp breezes hampered flag twirling and tubas, Fortino said, making it tough to catch flying objects and hit clear notes.
“As it gets colder, it’s harder to stay in tune,” the Gilroy band director explained. “And the wind is really tough on the color guard.”
But at least it didn’t rain on the woodwinds.
This Saturday, Live Oak and Gilroy head to the East Bay for a showdown at Diablo Valley College, 321 Golf Club Road in Pleasant Hill. The competition starts at 4:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors. For more information visit www.westernbands.org.
