Pride of the Bluejays March to the Top
By Lauren Delka
Winning first in their division, in both the parade marching and the field show, as well as the Best Winds award over all the classes, the Pride of the Bluejays marching band had a very successful day at the March to the Meridian Marching competition in Yankton, South Dakota.
“This was one of the best shows that we have performed so far. And I believe that our awards reflected that,” Mya Johnson, drum major, says. “Our wind players obviously got the best wind performance award out of every band there, and that is such a huge honor.”
From leaving extra early from the high school to arriving in Yankton, still trying to wake up, the band headed to the south end of the Meridian Bridge. After warming up, the band marched across the bridge, only playing drumline cadences.
Coming out of the bridge, they played their parade song, “Dancing Queen.” Marching to the beat of the drums, the band went into the judged portion confident.
After a small break to relax, take a nap, or play on the playground, the band warmed up for their field performance. The band marched onto the field, played through their show, “Dancing Queen" by ABBA, “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables, and “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, marched off, and chanted their closing performance call and response.
Having an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, the band watched the last two band performances, as well as the drum off, as they waited for the awards.
The Pride of the Bluejays had high hopes for their outcome, and they pulled through. They received first place in their division in parade show, field show, and received the Best Winds award.
“It's always fun to just perform in a parade going over the bridge. I was particularly proud of how we place first in the parade and the field in our categories, but to have the best brass and woodwind section of all the field bands, even bands that are almost, almost three times our size, I was very pleased and very ecstatic at how well we sound, but to have it validated, and then people recognize how good we actually are. It's pretty cool,” Mike Sindt, band director, states.
The next competition will be the Quad-State Marching Festival at the University of South Dakota on October 18.
