by Taylor Massey
For the last official competition of the marching band season, the Republic Tiger Pride Band and Republic Color Guard did not disappoint. They had one of their best performances of the year, and along with this, managed to win three caption awards and the title as the grand champions. The band and color guard traveled to Belleville, Illinois to participate in the Greater St. Louis Marching Band Festival. There were nineteen schools at the competition, and many of them were schools that the band had not seen at other competitions throughout the season.
At the competition, the band participated in two divisions with their show “Looking Grimm”, which is composed of songs inspired by the Brothers Grimm and their fairytales. They performed in both the blue and red divisions, which are determined by the size of the school and the band. However, this competition was structured differently from others this year.
“This competition was set up differently in the sense that it didn’t have a finals performance. Our band showed up, rehearsed, and then moved to the football stadium when it came time for us to play,” said Junior Luke Randleman.
They ended up coming out on top with first in the red division and three caption awards (Outstanding Percussion, Outstanding Music, and Overall Effect). However, the most exciting of all of their honors was their title as the highest-scoring performance of the day: Overall Grand Champion of the Blue and Red Divisions.
Randleman, who plays with the front ensemble, said that this performance was unforgettable.
“I love all of the marching band season, particularly the people and the music, but the St. Louis competition went so well that it will definitely be one of my fondest memories of this season. That performance yielded the best the band has done in a competition thus far in my high school career!”
Senior Cadance Wright, who is a captain of the RHS Color Guard, said the same.
“My favorite part about the trip was being able to represent the band by going out to receive the awards with my fellow guard captains and drum majors. For some of us, it was our last fall high school marching band competition. For everyone, it was the very last time performing “Looking Grimm, so we wanted to end the season off with a very good performance.”
The band’s efforts are far from over this year. They will move on to prepare for the concert band season, while the color guard will switch gears and prepare for their winter guard performances.