KEEP ON MARCHIN’ — Students from Deltona High School’s Blue Brigade marching band take to the field to perform their 2023 program, “Rise: a Journey to Start Anew.” The show featured music from popular bands like Imagine Dragons, Coldplay and Fall Out Boy.
With the football season ending, so too is the marching band season, and every West Volusia high-school marching band netted “superior” ratings — the highest possible — at the recent Florida Bandmasters Association’s music performance assessments.
Deltona High School’s Blue Brigade, University High School’s Titan Regiment and Pine Ridge High School’s Marching Panthers were all awarded the highest distinction at the all-day marching band festival at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs Oct. 28.
Each school’s marching band performed a show based around a theme, with popular songs and on-field choreography to go with them. University High School’s program, for example, titled “Kings and Queens,” featured songs from Elvis, Queen and Aretha Franklin.
Deltona High and Pine Ridge High were a little more contemporary, with shows that featured songs from newer artists.
ALL SMILES — Drum majors and percussion players from the University High School Titans marching band smile for a photo before a performance. From left are Tommy Emmons-Vanprooyen, Geo Victoria, Jacob Gavora, Karissa Sibley, Izak Chairez and Ashton Dechiara. University High School’s music students have more exciting performances in their future, including a trip to London for the 2024 New Year’s Day Parade.
Pine Ridge student Douglas Jett, a 10th-grader, was proud of the work the band did at the competition.
“It took months of hard work and dedication, but we achieved our best,” Jett said. “Let’s keep going PRHS!”
DeLand High School’s Marching Bulldogs performed later, Nov. 4, at the marching band performance at Leesburg High School due to a scheduling conflict with DeLand High’s Homecoming festivities. Even on out-of-district turf, the Marching Bulldogs netted straight superiors from the assessment’s judges with their show that featured music from The Phantom of the Opera.
“It felt great getting straight superiors. We worked really hard all season,” head drum major Tyler Okunor told The Beacon. “It was a great achievement, and it was very fulfilling.”
