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Marching Bands Faced Tough Competition

Courtesy photo by Beth Hensley

The Spirit of Sebring Marching Band from Sebring High School band performed last Saturday in Bradenton at the Florida State Band Championships. Avon Park High School Band also performed in the championship competition.

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By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: November 28, 2008

AVON PARK - The Avon Park and Sebring high school marching bands faced challenging conditions and formidable competition at Saturday's Florida Marching Band Coalition state semifinals.

"Despite high winds in Bradenton at the two competition sites, thousands of students entertained us with remarkable skill and talent," the FMBC reported. Some amazing catches were made by young guard men and women in all of the size classes and the music levels were simply amazing.

It was the Avon Park High School Marching Grenadier Band's first performance in the competition in a number of years.

Band Director Anthony Jones said even though the Marching Grenadiers fell short of being in the top five of the Class A Division to advance to the FMBC State Final Championships, they received their highest score for the season.

The previous weekend, the Marching Grenadiers performed in the Palmetto Ridge Marching Band Invitational, where the band came in third-place and received a "superior" rating score in general effect visual.

Jones said he is proud of his band students for doing so well and really appreciates the community support for the band program and the support from the Avon Park Band Boosters.

The Sprit of Sebring Marching Band competed in its second consecutive semifinals, but finished last in the Class AAA Division.

Sebring High Band Director Colorado Paniagua said the national-level judges were much tougher than any of the judges the band faced all season.

"It's good to get them in front of people who are going to have an open mind and have a much stricter viewpoint than normal judging would be," she said. "From what I understand, almost everybody there lost a lot of points ... a good four or five points."

The windy conditions were "ridiculous," Paniagua said.

As soon as the color guard members made a toss in the air it went five feet in front of them instead of back into their hands, she said. The wind carried the sound away from the instrumentalists. Students in the back couldn't hear things like usual.

"They still played, in my opinion, the best show they've ever played," Paniaqua said.

Next the band will perform Dec. 5 in Sebring's Christmas parade and then it's the concert and winter season.

For the winter season the color guard and percussion units split off from the band to do their own marching performances while the other instrumentalists comprise the concert band, which is involved in sit-down performances.

Jones thanked Paniagua and the Sebring band boosters for inviting the Marching Grenadiers to their tailgate Thanksgiving dinner after their FMBC performance.

Both bands have been cheering each other on all season, he noted.

"What a joy to see so many new bands in the semifinals this year and some of them did very, very well," the FMBC reported "They should all be proud of what they have achieved."

Marc Valero can be reached at 863-386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com

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