After plenty of rigorous practice sessions throughout the first quarter, the Marching Terriers took home the grand champions award near the end of September at the 33rd Annual Newton Marching Eagles Band Classic. The competitive side of our Marching Terriers has always been an ever-changing landscape, with long time members graduating and new participants coming in every year. With such a strong title under their names this year, the band has since had an increase in dedication to their performances.

When interviewing the band’s director, Mr. Greg Townsend, he went into great detail about what exactly judges and directors are looking for when a marching band performs. “The reality is that they’re analyzing every piece of the performance. They’re looking at the impact of the music, the drum line, the design, and if the performers are looking similar to the way the music is being performed.”

Whether it’s on the field or out on parade, the band heavily emphasizes on ensuring the aspects surrounding the music are just as good in order to enhance the performance. Mr. Townsend best explains this by stating, “If the music is aggressive then that’s how the performers should look…If you sing a sad song with a smile on your face, is that a convincing performance?”

How the band exactly operates is much more complex than it may seem on face value. While the directors do contribute plenty to the performances; section leaders, drum majors, and marching leaders are also essential factors to ensuring the band does their best work. These students act as the inside leadership younger members will find helpful in the long run as they better understand how to push themselves to put in the work and be a part of the team.

With great leadership comes more effective and rewarding practices, which leads to better performances. Senior drumline member Julie Todoro-Abarca expresses her enjoyment of performing this year thanks to the ever-changing lineup. “I think that the leadership has gotten much better, we abandoned our old ways and we’re looking for new ways to teach the freshman and setting the standard for these new students, that way they’re ready to teach those upcoming students next year.”

Townsend also recognized the significance of the strong leadership and work the band has put in this past quarter by stating, “It’s been a decade since we had a grand championship, which isn’t easy to come by, especially for a smaller school like us.”