DUNLAP —
Five local marching bands received top ratings at ISSMA district marching contest Saturday at Concord High School.
Goshen, Concord, Northridge, Fairfield and NorthWood all received gold ratings in their respective classes and will be moving on to regional competition in two weeks.
Goshen’s Crimson Marching Band took best music and best visual in Class B along with its gold rating.
"We sounded good," director Tom Cox said. "Our kids play. They have no fear."
This year’s show, "Changing Seasons" is challenging both musically and visually — with more drill charts than Cox has used in his 10 years at Goshen.
"There is a lot more drill," he said. "This is a real testament to the kids and how hard they work."
This was the first week Goshen had the entire show on the field, so next week’s rehearsals will focus on more visual elements and getting the show clean, Cox said.
Concord won best general effect with "Radiant Voices."
"This was our strongest performance this year," assistant director Bryan Golden said. "But like always, we have a ways to go. The hard work we put in this week showed out on the field."
Golden said the band showed a huge improvement over last week’s performance at the Penn Invitational, especially considering this was the first run of the full show.
Northridge director Brad Zook said he was happy with his band’s performance.
"I am very pleased," he said. "They worked hard all week and almost everything we fixed showed up in the show."
The strength of "Genesis" lies in the students’ dedication and the hard work they put into every rehearsal, he said.
Zook said he will concentrate on musicality and dynamics before next week.
Class C
Fairfield and Plymouth proved to be tough competition in Class C. Plymouth took best music, Fairfield won best general effect and the bands tied for best visual.
"This is a unique show," director Scott Garner said. "Because of that the kids put a lot of passion into it and that is a benefit to us right now."
Fairfield is coming off first place and a sweep of the awards last week at Penn with their contemporary show, "Rise Up."
"I think it is reassuring to the kids to know we are on the right track," Garner said. "They put in the hard work and hopefully get the big pay off in the end."
The students performed the rest of the drill Saturday and will add the finishing touches over the next week of rehearsals.
NorthWood also received a gold rating.
"It was a good show," director Eric Criss said, "but there are always details you want to work on."
"On Tour," features songs from Led Zepplin, John Lennon and the Rolling Stones, and the students made a good connection with their audience today, Criss said.
Wawasee High School received a silver rating for its performance of "Simon Says" and will not advance.
"This was the best performance we’ve ever had," said interim director Matt Sitts. "Their hearts were in it today."
Regional competition will be held at Chesterton High School for Class B and Lafayette Jefferson High School for Class C on Oct. 16.
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