On Sunday, October 19, the Cherry Hill East marching band and color guard earned first place in their division at the Tournament of Bands competition held at Eastern Regional High School, scoring 85.45 points.
The marching band attends around five to six competitions per season. Practices ran from August to early November.
“We had lessons in the summer, and the competitions didn’t start until late September,” said Rose Aynbinder (‘29). “We’re now fourth place in our division.”
Marching band competitions are often long. In fact, each competition often takes seven to eight hours to complete.
“When we get to the competition, we practice, we stretch, and then we go on…that’s the most nerve-racking part because we don’t know what the judges will think of the show,” said Abigail Boehmke (‘29), a member of East color guard. “But once we’re on the field, the nerves just kind of go away.”
The group arrives around two hours early, unloading the truck and then warming up. After practicing, they move to the gate, where they receive instructions on how and where to enter the field.
They have seven to eight minutes of music, and a total of fifteen minutes to get on and off the field and perform. After performing, the students have an opportunity to watch other bands and spend time with their own.
“We’ve been putting in a lot of extra time, and we’re trying to push ourselves a lot further,” said Gabriella Watson (‘26), a sentiment that Marching Band Director Mr. Palmer shares.
“We had been working really hard…Judges [who] were watching us were giving us really positive critiques and comments,” said Mr. Palmer. “When we design a competitive marching show, I like to do…something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…This year, though, we actually bought a show that was all original music.”
When asked about what he enjoys about teaching the marching band, he explained that marching band provides students with many different benefits.
“I like what it teaches our students on and off the field…They have to play [the music] at a very high caliber,” he said. “But then I also think off the field, it helps develop time management skills.”
With their competitive season officially at a close, the Cherry Hill East marching band and color guard ended on a high note after months of hard work and commitment.