Morgan Hill Unified School District’s Ann Sobrato High School Marching Band and Color Guard is not a legacy in the world of the Marching Arts. Sobrato has never won a Western Band Association Regional or State Championship, nor had an undefeated season. They aren’t known throughout the state.
However this season, this small group of dedicated staff and students came together and did what was thought impossible.
Ann Sobrato High School opened in 2005. Its marching band only started competing in 2015. Its Director of Music, Greg Chambers, has been with the band for 10 years. He and many of his staff are locals from throughout the Bay Area.
They include Visual Director Joshua Glenn, Music Instructor Jeff Chambers, Percussion Instructor Kirk Berkland, Front Ensemble Instructor Lila Szini, Assistant Visual Caption Head Katie Blackmon, Color Guard Choreographer Ceasar Renteria and Color Guard Instructor September Rodriguez.
This year’s student leaders include Drum Majors Suliman Ahmadi and Alisa Macabantad. All have spent the 2025 fall season diligently working with students to make Sobrato the band to watch.
This summer, Color Guard and percussion held weekly sectionals to prepare before the competition season kicked off. Both sections had a lot to prove this year, having been made up almost entirely of ninth graders.
Band camp started two weeks before the first day of school. A typical day includes eight hours of practice, team bonding exercises—and lots of music, choreography and fun. By the last day of camp these students know a good chunk of their production and are ready for the season.
Even with school starting, the band continues strong with practices after school every Monday and Wednesday from 4-7pm, and eight-hour rehearsals on Saturdays.
Sectionals—extra practices led by the students themselves—are called during the week. These students are serious musicians!
Rehearsals take place on the back of the baseball practice field. The band spray paints their own yard lines so they can learn and practice their drills.
Unlike other high schools, Sobrato has no field lights or built-in stadium seating. This isn’t a problem when school starts in August and daylight lingers long, but as the season moves forward, the sun sets earlier and earlier. By November, it’s a race to get in as much practice as possible before dark. This year, parents stepped in by lining their cars along the fence and shining their headlights so students could continue practicing after sunset.
When the first competition came on Oct. 11 in Gilroy, they were nervous and excited. Plus, this was the first time they played in a stadium with built-in seating, which changes what they hear on the field.
Their hard work had paid off. Sobrato Marching Band and Color Guard walked away with 1st Place in the 1A division with a score of 62.825, and won caption awards for High Effect, High Visual, High Percussion, High Color Guard and High Music.
Then, on Oct. 13, the band took 2nd Place in San Francisco’s Fleet Week’s band competition. They held their own against much larger bands, winning $8,000 in prize money!
The band’s next competition was the Independence Tournament of Bands on Oct. 18. Again, they placed 1st in their division with a score of 66.375 and took home caption awards for High Effect, High Color Guard and High Music.
On Saturday, Oct. 25, Sobrato competed at Cupertino Tournament of Bands, taking 1st place in 1A, and taking the High Percussion and High Music caption awards with a score of 71.20. On Nov. 8, Sobrato competed in the Scarlet Regiment Tournament of Bands in Hollister and again won 1st place, High Percussion and High Music with a score of 75.425.
With four straight wins, Sobrato made history by being the only WBA 1A band to enter regionals undefeated.
On Nov. 15, Sobrato Marching Band and Color Guard took the field at James Logan High School to compete against six other bands.They emerged victorious and became the Western Band Association Regional Champions in 1A. Their wins include awards in High Visual, High Effect, High Percussion and High Music with a score of 79.275.
The next stop for this momentous season was the Western Band Association State Championships in Fresno. On Nov. 22, they competed against 15 other 1A schools from across California.
For the first time in Sobrato Marching Band history, they took 1st place with a score of 81.325 and caption awards in High Effect, High Music and High Percussion, becoming WBA 1A Champions.
This is the highest score they’ve achieved in Sobrato Marching Band’s 10-year history.
On Nov. 23, the top five bands from each 1A to 3A classes, plus the next top five scoring bands, competed for Grand Champion. Twenty bands in total competed. Sobrato Marching Band and Color Guard held their own as the lone 1A band to place in the top 10. Coming in at 9th place, with a score of 83.625, they beat their score from the day before, again making Sobrato history.
What started in August as a group of hopeful kids—many who were brand new to marching—ended with the season’s WBA 1A State Champions. Not only making history for Sobrato, but also growing as musicians, athletes, and friends.
Teresa Peschke is the social media chair for the Sobrato Murphy Music Association.
