Har-Ber Band banded together after state

Maggie Cebuhar, Reporter

Senior Riley Carson was shocked at the outcome on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Har-Ber band placed fourth in state. Used to winning first place in the past two years’ competitions, this year’s placement came as a disappointment to Carson. Mr. Ford, band director, rushed down to his band after Har-Ber’s performance, full of pride. Carson, Ford, and the entire band walked away from the competition content, knowing they played difficult music and played it well.

“Right after we performed, he ran down to us and said, ‘If they didn’t like that, they don’t like us.’ Luckily, we try not to base our joy off the opinions of other people,” Carson said.

Carson believes that as a performer, he owes it to his audience to perform to his best capability. He believes the state competition was no exception to that. Carson was content with the fact that some people loved it, while some did not. Marching band is subjective, like most forms of art. It depends on who the audience or receiver is, and outcomes are solely based on opinions. This competition was different from past ones in that it was the first ever state-wide competition.

“I think we are finally getting more and more bands to play of equal talent to compete with one another,” sophomore Joseph Abshier said.

Abshier plays alto-saxophone. He knew that the band had practiced to be prepared, but believed they could have done better with their phrasing, which is breathing at the right times during the performance. Abshier’s preparation was to remain calm before performing, and to go over the whole production in his head to be prepared. Abshier knows Har-Ber to be competitive, and like other band members, he would have liked to at least place in the top three, but he agreed with Carson and Ford that they the best they could.

“We’re all really proud of everything we’ve accomplished this season and how much we’ve improved. For us, we view winning as marching the best show we can and I definitely think we did that,” junior Maggie McDonald said.

McDonald agreed that the band has practiced an immense amount. The band practiced every morning 8-9:30, as well as many after school practices. McDonald believes that the band brought energy to games that made most students proud of our band program. McDonald, Carson, and Abshier all agreed with Ford that they gave their best, and that was winning to them. The subjective judges might not have liked their style, but the Wildcats won in their own eyes.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about bringing home some more hardware. It’s about doing your best in whatever you do, all the time,” Carson said.