On Aug. 24, the Battery and front ensemble traveled to Timberland High School to compete in the Midwest Marching Percussion Classic. The Silver Falcon Marching Band placed 1st Overall as well as winning the title of ‘Best Front Ensemble’. This marked the first competition for the Battery and front ensemble this year.
The band took time out of rehearsals and practices to get ready for the competition. Sophomore Lucy Vanderheyden said that the performance went better than expected.
“We prepared for the competition by doing lots of rehearsals as a group. I think it was one of our better runs that day, so luckily, it went well even with everyone watching,” Vanderheyden said.
Senior Oliver Stratton agreed, saying that he thought the band played very well at their first competition.
“As a band, everyone did great. The other soloists, and especially the percussionists, all sounded great. Everything meshed together really nicely,” Stratton said.
The band performed a piece from their 2024-2025 season show, ‘Beyond the Sidewalk’ with a mix of instruments such as drums, marimbas, vibraphones, xylophones, and more. With the Midwest Marching Percussion Classic being the first competition of the year, nobody could have expected the outcome of their performance. Junior Zachary Skelly said it was his best performance so far.
“I felt good about it. For the drumline, it was definitely the best performance we’ve had this year,” Skelly said.
This year marked the third annual percussion competition at Timberland High School. According to Skelly, Timberland usually takes the cake at this event, making the band’s win all the more astounding.
“I was pretty surprised because normally Timberland wins that competition every year, and we beat them this time,” Skelly said.
Summit performed last after a day of clinics. Stratton said that the front ensemble and Battery didn’t get to hear or watch the other bands perform, so when it came time for awards, they were essentially going in blind.
“I hadn’t heard any of the other front ensembles before [the] awards so I was surprised considering how little I knew about everyone else. However, I do feel everyone worked really hard and we deserved that win,” Stratton said.
Typically at competitions, awards are announced last to first, usually starting with third, fourth, or fifth place, and ending with the winner. Vanderheyden said the band essentially knew they had won when a different band took the second place spot.
“Once we heard we were not [second], everyone knew we got first so we waited for them to announce our name and [we all] got super excited,” Vanderheyden said.
Stratton said that the vibes were high on the bus despite being tired from the long day.
“On the way back, everyone in the back of the bus was playing music on a speaker and singing along as we watched the sunset behind us,” Stratton said.
