Yesterday, the SHS Marching Band and Color Guard traveled down to Los Angeles, where they are performing their field show for the last time at SoFi stadium for the Western Band Association Championships. This competition marks the end of their 2024 season.
They are competing in the 5A division against six other schools, all of which are based in Southern California. Band students are missing two days of school for the trip, which runs from Nov. 3-5. Director Jason Shuian said the 194-person band and Color Guard unit still has some challenges to work through.
“There’s still some timing [issues] that we are still struggling with, and there’s always more [to do with] playing more in tune and having great tone quality all the way through,” Shuian said. “Endurance is another big thing that we’re struggling with, partially because we rehearse less than other schools [around us].”
The band had three main performances this fall of its 2024 field show called, which is themed “The Show Must Go On.”
Most recently, they performed it in front of judges at Cupertino High’s Tournament of Bands (TOB) on Oct. 26.
That day, the band placed a disappointing fourth out of the four schools present in the top 5A division, with both the Color Guard and Percussion taking third in their respective category.
With a total score of 78.550 — which includes general effect, visual, musical, colorguard and percussion individual scores — the band placed 6.70 points behind first place band James Logan High. SHS scored lower than in previous years, with a larger than expected 1.525 difference between Cupertino High, which placed third. Most scores often stay within a 0.2-0.8 difference between placings, but this year, a low visual score dragged the SHS band’s overall score down.
“I thought that we had a really great performance [at TOB], and we really showcased our improvement,” junior trumpet player Jet Tsang said. “Ultimately, our score really doesn’t matter; I couldn’t care less whether we were first or last. At the end of the day, the most important part was the feeling of exhilaration [we got] after putting it all out on the field.”
The culmination of three months of rehearsals, the show takes inspiration from “Musical Royalty,” incorporating songs from music icons such as the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin and the iconic British rock band Queen. The show also features three major solos: one by Tsang, a trombone solo by senior Daniel Schwartz and another by junior color guard member Mia Ouchida.
Previous marching band shows have focused on more intangible themes, such as the 2023 show’s “Call of the Unknown,” which sought to communicate the experience of pushing past comfort zones and into uncharted territory. In contrast, this year’s show has a far more concrete concept.
“It’s a call to action, like ‘What’s your legacy going to be?’” junior drum major Matthew Liu said. “I think that it’s especially speaking to the [upperclassman] and it’s something that I can apply and feel connected to.”
The band performs choreography in movement one, which they had been perfecting since the start of the season.
The marching season kicked off with their annual band camp the week before school started. During the week-long rehearsals, music directors Sean Clark and Jason Shiuan, along with other external staff, worked to build a solid foundation for the coming months. Focusing primarily on music and visual fundamentals, the camp allowed both new and veteran marching band members to refine their technique and bond with the incoming freshman class.
“We start from the very beginning and build everything up together,” Liu said. “Once we master the basics, then [we] can move on to more advanced movements and playing.”
After the start of the academic year, rehearsals moved to Thursdays and Saturdays, with additional sectionals scheduled in two-week cycles.
The woodwind section plays their 16th note melody during the first movement of the show, showcasing their musical strengths.
Two weeks earlier, the band performed their first show on Oct. 12 at the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) Marching Band Expo, where the FUHSD marching bands invited both SHS and Los Gatos High as guests to perform at their 21st annual exhibition show. The marching band performed twice: one show in the afternoon to showcase their work to the other schools marching band members and again at night for a paid public audience of around 400. Due to the time-sensitive nature of competitions, marching bands are not usually able to watch one another perform, so the Expo provided a unique opportunity for the bands to showcase their work to one another before the start of SHS’s official competition season.
Along with the rest of the percussion section, junior marimba player Kevin Yu warms up separately from the band to iron out any last rhythmic issues.
The show culminates with a final rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” where the performers scream the lyrics of the song while striking a dramatic pose, reminiscent of Freddie Mercury.
Despite the struggles that the band is still facing, Liu believes that the SoFi trip will be a satisfying end to the season: “Our [goal for the trip] is to go out there and leave it all out on the field,” he said. “I want [us to] give a performance we are proud of.”