This year the band competition season was like no other. After not being able to compete last year, the band was eager and excited to get back to normalcy. 

The season lasted from July to October. During the summer there was a 4 week period in which the band would rehearse their performance to get ready for their upcoming season. The rehearsal would start at 8 am and end at 9 pm. The name of their performance was ¨One Day I´ll Fly.¨ Senior Robbie Vann said, ¨It was really fun to be able to march for one last year after being virtual last year. I had a great time with all my friends and also became friends with the new marchers. The show to me was about how no matter what may get in your way in life, you can get past the hard times if you continue to push on.¨

They received 1st place in all categories in the River Bluff Swamp Classic competition. At the Palmetto Esprit de Corps competition they won 3rd place. At the James F Byrnes Tournament of the Bands competition,  the band received 2nd place and was honored with Best Percussion section. Drum Major Jed Bartholomew said ,¨I enjoyed spending my last year performing such an impactful piece. I felt that I put forth a lot of effort into this years band season and it was a great to see all the work we put in be expressed. Having the opportunity to get to lead something that I care so much about was a great honor.¨

This year was also the band’s first year performing in the 4A region. They placed second in the lower region and 5th in the state competition. The band was also honored as ¨The Best Lower State Band¨ at the competition.

Senior percussionist Lyn Tucker said, ¨More than half of the band had never marched a competitive season because of Covid. We were the highest scoring lower state band at state. This season was fueled by last year getting ripped away by Covid and we were determined to give it our all. It was hard at the beginning to get the little ones to understand what it meant to the seniors but once they got into the season they kind of adopted the love and passion that we the seniors had for the activity. The season wouldn’t have gone how it did if we didn’t have the staff pushing us every second. They saw the potential of the show and the potential in us and I believe we lived up to and exceeded their expectations. ‘One Day I ‘ll Fly’ was about overcoming what life throws at you and using music to tell a story.  Our motto for the seniors and the whole band was ‘no regrets’. Before we would perform we would always talk about walking off that field and leaving everything we had on there. And I truly believe that this season we gave it our all and we left the 2021 season with no regrets.¨ 

The seniors definitely left a strong foundation for the underclassmen and it will be exciting to see what the band will do next year!

Contributor: Carolann Derrick