On Saturday, Nov. 2, the Independence marching band was awarded all superiors, the highest possible ranking, at the Virginia Band Organization Directors Association (VBODA) assessment at Liberty High School in Fauquier County.
Independence was one of five schools that performed at this all-day assessment and was one of two schools to be awarded all superiors, with Potomac Falls being the other school.
In the world of marching band, the state marching band assessment is analogous to a Standard of Learning (SOL) of marching band. Instead of competing for placements with other bands, each band is judged on their visuals and their music. After being judged, they are given a grade. The grading ranges on a scale from one to five, with one being the best. Not only did the Independence marching band receive ones in every category, they also locked in their overall superior rating.
Annabelle Melus, 10, explained, “You get to see all of your hard work go towards something you’ve spent months doing. As a section leader, it’s so rewarding to see your ‘kids’ get so excited.”
Melus is one of the many sophomore leaders in the marching band at Independence. Although having no seniors in the band is one of the many challenges that goes along with being a first year band, there are plenty of opportunities for juniors and sophomores to hold leadership positions. ¨We’re going against bands with juniors and seniors, so we really are starting from nothing,” said Katie Nail, 10.
Moving forward, the marching band hopes to tackle new challenges. ¨I think we’ll probably have a more complex show next year, since our band director knows what we are capable of now,” Nail added. In addition, they also hope for harder music, new moves and a bigger band.
Overall, the marching band hopes to build off of their first year reputation. The band is proud with what they have been able to accomplish as a first year school. ¨I think we surprised a lot of people this year with how well we were able to do as a first-year band. We will definitely keep working hard next year, hopefully win some more competitions, and continue to build our reputation,” said Nail.