Pride of the Bluejays Take Second Place in Yankton Marching Festival
Launch the media gallery 1 playerBy Natasha Zamora
Pierce Bluejay marching band stepped off the field with a second-place finish in their division, Class A field marching, also getting best winds and best percussion in Class A, and also first in the parade marching in Class AAA. The Pride of the Bluejays had great success at the Yankton Meridian Marching Festival on Saturday, October 10.
“I felt the band’s performance was one of our best yet, and I can tell we’ve been working hard to improve,” drum major Jordyn Schwede said.
As the Bluejay marching band woke up bright and early to arrive in Yankton, the band headed to the Meridian Bridge. They warmed up their instruments before walking across the bridge, the drumline playing cadences as the band stepped in time.
As they got to the street, they played “Paul Simon Opener” after coming out of the bridge. The band marched confidently while the judges watched from the sides.
“I thought the band was best at playing out and giving the featured parts their moment,” Schwede said.
After a while, the band could relax a bit before heading to the field marching. The band warmed up for the field performance. They marched on the field as they played “Paul Simon Opener” by Jay Dawson, “Your Song” by Elton John, and “I Don’t Care What You Say Anymore, This Is My Life” by Billy Joel. The band closed off with their Bluejays chant as they marched off.
“The band handled mistakes by bouncing right back and not dwelling on anything that may have gone wrong,” Schwede said.
As drum major, Schwede helps lead the band and keep everyone moving forward.
“Being drum major means that I’m responsible for how the band performs and how quickly we can advance,” Schwede said.
Although the band had a successful competition, there is still room to improve.
“I think something that the band could improve on is slides and lines,” Schwede said.
The Pride of the Bluejays band will continue their hard work as their next competition will be the Quad-State marching band competition at the University of South Dakota on October 17.
