The Wildcat Marching Band and Colorguard performed their show, “A Day at the Ranch,” at the annual band competition famously known as the “Hart Rampage” on October 26th. With 31 bands from various schools, Rampage was a huge accumulation of creative shows. This year, the crowd totaled over 6,000 people.
On the days leading up to the competition, band students were starting to feel excitement for their big competition. “It’s great seeing so many high schools come together for a single goal,” freshman trumpet player Haram Shim commented. The Rampage was an opportunity to meet like minded students from other schools and bond over a mutual love for music. But with the championships ever closer, it’s a race to improve every weekend in order to win the gold medal.
This marks the seventh semester of competition for senior Nicole Tran, the front ensemble captain. When asked about differences between this season and her previous ones, Tran expressed, “Though I still have more than a semester left to go, each competition and performance seems more and more bittersweet. I plan on making the most out of my last few months as a member of both the marching band and percussion ensemble.”
When the time finally rolled around, the West Ranch marching band began their performance. The program had a farm theme including set pieces like white picket fences and hay bales. It also involved complex choreography with the runtime spanning eight minutes and four movements. Dr. Rod Schueller, band director, elaborated on the pieces: “The opener, ballad and closer are from Bruce Broughton’s film score to the movie “Silverado.” The third movement is “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” by the Charlie Daniels Band.”
Performing right before award announcements made everything much more nerve-wracking. However, the audience described the show as a delight to watch. Freshman Madelyn Mars explained, ”It was fun, there was a lot of screaming, but a lot of West Ranch support.”
The award ceremony arose. Parents and students alike waited in anticipation as the judges narrowed down the scores. There was an extensive range of categories for awards, with the highest award labeled sweepstakes. West Ranch earned sweepstakes for Visual Performance, General Effect and Percussion. Finally, with an overall score of 88.7 points, West Ranch won the sweepstakes award for Band. “We’ve been working a lot and building momentum,” senior clarinet player Jonathan Myung said when asked how the band achieved the high results.
As the end of marching season approaches, the band is preparing to go out with a bang. With the last competition near, Dr. Schueller conveyed his final input about the band’s chance at a major win: “I want us to perform at the very best level of which we are capable. If we leave the field knowing we did everything we could do to prepare, gave 100 percent effort and executed like we should, there is nothing more to ask nor expect.” Watch out Wildcats, with a successful head start, the West Ranch marching band is ready to dominate championships!
