For the Norwin High School Marching Band, practice and dedication are key. The band and colorguard practice for hours a day beginning in the summer through competition season in all weather. Traditionally, Norwin Marching Band has had a history of success with 29-time Regional Champions on their resume. This year the Marching Band’s culminating show was at Toledo, OH for a Bands of America (BOA) regional competition on Oct. 7.
Bands of America is an organization aimed to showcase marching bands across the nation and offer experiences to students, parents, teachers, directors, and fans alike. The competition on Oct. 7 was a regional competition, one of 18 states holding them, and the Norwin Marching Band has many feelings about the competition and band in general.
“I am very confident in our ability to perform,” junior saxophone player Taylor Provence explained. “We’re doing extremely well this year and learning things much more quickly than usual. Everyone puts their whole heart into what they do.”
This year’s show is entitled ‘Pastime: For the Love of the Game.’
This year’s show is “about baseball, and the journey to the major leagues,” director Timothy Daniels said. “During the design process, we drew inspiration from The Rookie, A League of Their Own, and Field of Dreams.”
The students and fans alike know that in the past at these types of competitions, the band has done really well. Again, they are a 29-time regional champion, but this is the first time in 20 years they have competed at this specific competition.
“I don’t know of a band competition in the last decade where we got lower than 2nd or 3rd place,” senior trumpet player Angelo Buffalini said.
The band practices every morning during 1st period and at least once a week after school. They have performed many times outside of BOA, including with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association (PIMBA). These competitions have been held at Kiski on Saturday Sept. 9 and Norwin on Saturday Sept. 23. On Fridays, the band also performs their show at the Norwin football games at halftime. You can find a video of them performing at halftime of the Penn Hills football game on Friday Sept 1 below:
The fact that the band has excelled in the past gives hope to students, and everyone seems to understand that it is a team effort to perform and compete.
Students and Norwin truly love being in band, and many compare it to a second family. This truly shows through the performances and competitions, and you can definitely tell that everyone works very hard and very well together. Some students were excited, some nervous, but most were ready to perform.
The students were excited about different parts of the competition, as some have been performing for years and knew what to expect.
“I’m ambitious for the trip,” junior mellophone player Enzo Washowich said about the BOA competition in Toledo. “We’re in a really good spot right now, and we’re only going to get better through the season.”
This thought from Washowich sums up the way many band students feel about the place they are in as of now. Although they are in a very good place, as stated by many, there are still things students feel they need to work on.
“Some of my section needs to improve their quality and consistency of sound,” junior trombone player Gabriel Wilson said.
Although no fans would notice these mistakes, the fact that the students notice and care shows their maturity and love for the art.
Throughout the year, there have been many festivals and competitions before the Toledo endeavor, and students have been very happy with their performance’s progress.
“I like that there’s so many things you can take and learn from it,” sophomore front ensemble member Kayla Lackey said. “For example, there’s so many leadership opportunities, band makes you physically stronger, and it REALLY teaches you about time management.”
Here are the final results from the Toledo regional competition. The Norwin high school Marching Band placed second in the preliminary round and fourth in the competition overall.
