Over the weekend of October 25, the Norwin Band won first place in the Bands Of America (BOA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship competition in Delaware with a final score of 87.950. They also won the awards for the three captions: Outstanding Music Performance, Outstanding Visual Performance, and Outstanding General Effect.
The Norwin band also recently won second place in the PIMBA Regional Championships, coming close behind Kiski. The Norwin Band then knocked off Kiski and other Mid-Atlantic states in the larger regional competition.
According to the BOA website, “The weight of the numbers places 60% of the value on music and 40% on visual, as well as 60% on general effect and 40% on performance.”
The three-day excursion and eventual victory in Delaware did not come without much practice and dedication from both the band and the color guard. Check out the Knight Krier podcast with color guard captain Addison Yulch and drum major Evan Roper.
“The color guard season starts the first or second week of June with our practices,” said Color Guard captain junior Addison Yulch. “And ends whenever the regional ended.”
The dedication and attention to detail before every performance were also a key factor in the band’s win.
“I think the band had their best two performances of the season at this show,” said band director Brandon Kandarak. “The students had an opportunity to debrief and discuss our prelims performance after we ate dinner that evening, and were able to identify a few specific areas that we can improve in our finals performance. Several of those musical and visual moments were improved in the final performance, despite not having an opportunity to rehearse them.”
This year’s theme is “What Do You See?” Based on the Rorschach ink blot test, where one could see different images based on the angle they looked at it.
“It was a take on the Rorschach ink blot test,” said senior drum major Evan Roper. “You can kind of tell in the music. There’s this one part where it’s like kind of solace in the beginning, and then it gets graze towards the end. There’s not really a theme to it; it’s just kind of focused on that. There’s a lot of partner work and mirroring images.”
With a stellar performance at both events, the Norwin Band capped off its successful season and is now winding down to start concert season.
“Marching band season is long,” said Kandarak. “And it can be challenging to stay focused and continue to improve. It is very easy for students to get complacent with their performance quality in September and early October, but we must continue working hard to improve until the very hard. Despite the challenge of doing that, I was very impressed by our students’ diligence, resilience, and commitment to excellence that endured the entire season.”
