Alexis Huber | Raider Staff
The Marching Raiders performed part of their routine at the
Homecoming football game. Raider Staff Photographer: Logan Gibson.
After a long day at school, students gather in room 143, collecting their props and instruments before they go to practice on the open field. Through the first semester of the school year, this is the schedule the LCHS Marching Raiders follow. They practice three, sometimes four, days a week, leading up to competitions almost every weekend and performances during halftime shows at football games.
For the past eleven years in a row, the marching band has been honored as a Virginia State Honor Band for their performance at these competitions. “In order to do this,” a post by The Official Loudoun County Public Schools page on Facebook said, “a band must display a superior performance in both marching band and concert band.”
“This is the highest award that can be bestowed upon a program in Virginia,” the post continued. Despite these high honors, many people don’t know the band is so accomplished, or even what they do outside of halftime shows.
While parents often come to the competitions, the band members’ fellow students don’t tend to have the same attendance rate. According to long-time band member Sean Snyder, “People don’t always come because it costs money to get in.”
The distance of some competitions’ locations is another deterrent.
“We travel a lot – most of our competitions are more than an hour and a half away,” Snyder said. In the past, the band has competed as far away as New Jersey.
Despite its demanding nature, the members of the LCHS marching band are very dedicated to the program. As stated by band member Rachel MacChiarolo, the members of the band are so passionate because, “[they] just want to be successful.”
This passion has earned the band sponsorships by Sevila, Saunders, Huddleston & White, P.C., and Hancock Orthodontics. According to band director Darron Young, these sponsorships are used to pay for transportation and equipment.
“The band has to pay for transportation to competitions,” Young said, “because it’s considered overtime for the bus drivers since it’s on the weekend.”
Other costs, said band members Jackson Fenner and Shannon Morris, are usually covered by, “…the students who pay into [the band].” The fact that the students themselves do so much to keep the band alive is another testament to their zeal and dedication.
To show the band support this year, Young suggested that students come to see the band perform at the more local competitions.
Snyder agreed with that sentiment. “I would like more people to see the show properly,” he said.
Morris, however, expressed some potential concerns. “Part of me does [wish people would come to competitions],” she said, “but the other part of me is like, they won’t know how competitions work. You’re supposed to be completely silent when bands are performing.”
“But it’d be nice to have more school support,” Fenner added.
If students wish to support the band and attend their competitions or other performances outside of school, they can find more information on the band’s Charms Office page, which may be accessed through their page on the official school website. At competitions, students should remember to be quiet and respectful when the bands are performing.
If coming out to the competitions isn’t a possibility, students can also show their support by wishing them luck when they leave for their hours of practice each week, or just by congratulating them on their wins and showing they care.
This season, the LCHS Marching Raiders has performed in several competitions, as well as the Homecoming game, the annual Halloween parade, and during a five-day trip to Disney in November. Over the homecoming weekend, the Marching Raiders won the USBands State Competition, adding another impressive victory to their record.
