As fall is beginning, football games are a common part of this time of year. However, football games are not the only excitement our band has. Our Titans band has won two competitions so far this year. The first win was in Ledford, where they won our class, which means size. The second one was at North Lincoln, where they won grand champs and three class sizes. The size of the competition determines awards and how judging works. There are different class sizes for the number of people in a group. Being judged depends on the level of competition you are in.
“There is different levels of band, but ultimately, you pick a competition at the level you want to compete in. You sign up and register and then they group you based on your band’s size. 1A is normally smaller, 2A’s a little bigger and 3A. It can go as much as the state competition bracket will allow which is normally a 5A. Then you compete against all the bands in your class and they are compared by class. They select losers and winners based on that,” Shoemaker said.
Though they might seem simple, there is a lot that goes into band competitions and preparing for them. Everyone has different responsibilities when competing and there are multiple judges who determine scoring based on how you compete.
“There’s a whole set of criteria when you arrive, get into your uniform and warm up. After all of that you go and perform and when you perform, there’s six panels of normally five or six judges. They are normally judging one specific thing, one is judging color guard, one is judging how the musicians play their music and they add all those scores together,” Shoemaker said.
Being judged at competitions is a process. After playing, judges fill out rubrics and add points together. At the end of the night there is an awards ceremony where they announce all the awards.
“Judges have these sheets that are like rubrics for bands where they have boxes that have a list of things performers have to do. There are five boxes, the highest showing that every member performing does well and the lowest showing that no members are competing correctly. You get higher points based on how well you are achieving all the things on the rubric. If your band is getting a box 4 then that is worth a certain amount of points. Each judge has rubrics and you get points then add them all together,” Shoemaker said.
Band members enjoy competitions and winning awards. It gives them a chance to show how much they know. Junior Sophia St. Clair, who plays trombone, is among these exceptional performers who enjoy competitions.
“It is my favorite part of the band. I am also in leadership, so we get to actually receive the awards when we win,” St. Clair said.
Junior D’Vaughn Bowen who plays trombone played in a solo at the first competition this year. When Shoemaker asked him he jumped at the chance to stand out in performance.
“Mr. Shoemaker asked me if I wanted a solo and he said he had an improve. I wrote my own solo and we got grand champs color,” Bowen said.
Doing well in previous competitions, Titans are hopeful for the future seasons. Each competitor played a role in competitions and their hard work paid off.
