Marching Band becomes ‘Legendary’
Eaton takes first at Legend Marching Festival
EHS band members gather after awards
After homecoming week, the Fightin’ Reds Marching Band prepared for one of their biggest competitions of the season. Legend Marching Festival was held October 6 at Echo Park Stadium in Parker. 2A, 3A, and 4A bands competed in the preliminary competition.
Earlier this season, the marching band attended the Friendship Cup Marching Competition. Following the prelims, they performed in finals and placed 2nd overall and won two caption awards, ‘Best Percussion’ and ‘High Visual’. This was a great success for the band members and a hopeful start to their season. The next two weeks, they went to morning rehearsals, Wednesday night practices, and performed in two football games. Color Guard section leader Tecla Valasek (20) said, “I’m proud of our band for their work ethic, you can tell no matter what, everyone on the field wants to improve and do their best.”
This years show entitled ‘Home’ has been in the works since July. ‘Home’ is about life’s struggles and the epic journey home. Drum Major Colton Sell (20) said, “Home is the place I’m going to be able to come back to when I’m lost. I feel at home with the band, they have treated me like family and leaving them is going to be as tough as leaving my actual home.” Each band member has a different perspective of what home means to them, making the show a beautiful composition of passionate students.
Once the band arrived in Parker, they prepped to give their all in the prelims. Their performance earned them 2nd place in the 2A division, 4th overall, and a finals performance. Knowing they needed to bring it in the finals, the evening was filled with focus and determination. Snare Drummer Abigail Whitaker (22) said, “We left the field knowing we gave everything we had, portraying emotion in our performance was a big part of that.” The band was energetic and joyful while entering the stands to watch the awards ceremony. The EHS Marching Band won first place with their highest score of 73.5. Valasek (20) said, “When we didn’t get announced I kept thinking ‘Wow we got third, wow we got second’. Once they announced us as first I was stunned. I couldn’t believe we did it, I was so happy for our band.” Although they are very proud of their win, staying humble and remembering what they’ve grown from still remains a priority. Moving forward, the band will use this success to motivate them to work just as hard as they did to prepare for Legend.
