The Urbana Mighty Hawks Band perform in the 2011 All County Marching Band Festival.
On Oct. 17, more than 500 people packed into the Thomas Johnson High School Patriot Stadium to see performances by bands from every Frederick County high school for the 2011 All County Marching Band Festival. On the program were bands from Brunswick, Frederick, Catoctin, Frederick, TJ, Linganore, Middletown Oakdale, Tuscarora, Urbana and Walkersville high schools.
Each band presented a series of pieces that revolved around a specific theme. Under the direction of drum majors Sean Meyers and Amelia Mossy, the Urbana Mighty Hawks Band performed a suite of three pieces dubbed “School Day.” Each piece in the suite depicted a typical high school class — geometry, history and, of course, band.
The history performance included a voiceover of famous speeches as Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Color Guard members, dressed in plaid skirts and oxford shirts, twirled and tossed their flags in sync with the music.
The band played true to its theme — “Afternoon Announcements” — and near the end of the performance, members even used chairs as props on the field for a classroom effect. The band finished its performance to rousing applause.
Urbana band members were extremely proud of their hard work.
“We’re going to the [Bands of America] Competition at Towson on [Oct. 22],” said K.C. Halter, a 16-year-old senior. “It’s the highest level of competition for high school bands.”
Halter is a bass drum player in the Mighty Hawks Marching Band. He has been in the marching band for one year, and he’s already hooked. “I want to be in band in college, too,” he said. “I’ll do [Drum Corps International], which is professional marching band.”
Scott MacDonald, 15 and a junior, is a section leader and plays the saxophone in the band. MacDonald gave voice to the camaraderie, which he said acts like glue in all marching bands. “I enjoy being with people who are as dedicated as I am,” he said.
MacDonald has seven years of experience with the saxophone and has been in the Mighty Hawks Marching Band for three years.
Karen Duda, mother of freshman color guard member Kayla Duda, shared the sentiment.
“It’s great watching them work together. They’re so supportive of each other,” Duda said.
The marching band community is close-knit. Outside the stadium, where vendors sold funnel cakes and beverages, parents and band members mingled and chatted. A cheer went up from inside the stadium when the festival’s guest performers, the Shepherd University Ram Band, finally took the field.
The Ram Band, the last to perform, treated spectators to a medley of popular Beatles hits, including covers of “Eleanor Rigby,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The band’s finale included a rendition of the ever-popular “Hey Jude,” accompanied by bright yellow flags in the Color Guard.
Audience members cheered, sang and clapped along to the well-known ending chorus. Their thunderous applause at the end of the evening was another testament to the lasting power of a good, old-fashioned marching band.
Editor’s Note: Madelyne Xiao is a sophomore at Urbana High School.