SRHS Marching Band impresses at State

The Scripps Ranch High School Marching Band placed second in the California State Band Championships division finals and advanced to the Grand Championships for the first time in more than 15 years. These photos show the band at previous events. (photos by John Gregory)

SRHS Marching Band impresses at State

The Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) Marching Band had an incredibly successful season of competitions this fall, and its showing on Saturday, Nov. 18, at the California State Band Championships (CSBC) in Huntington Beach was equally impressive. In fact, it was fantastic.

The performances were precise and enjoyable to watch. With a score of 85.4, SRHS placed second in the division finals. Falcons soloist Andrew Pak took home the Soloist Award and a $500 cash prize.

For the first time in more than 15 years, SRHS advanced to the Grand Championships which took place later that same evening. SRHS placed ninth in the Grand Championships, and the Falcons Marching Band earned the Viewer’s Choice Award.

Led by Music Director Russell Shedd, this was a spectacular effort by the band members, drill team, band coaches and parent volunteers, most of whom put in a 21-hour day. Student call time was 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning. The group returned to Scripps Ranch at 2 a.m. Sunday.

Saturday’s CSBC was the top event for what has been a very eventful season. On Oct. 7, the SRHS Marching Band performed in nearly flawless fashion as it captured the top trophies in its 20th Annual SRHS Marching Band & Color Guard Tournament on the home campus football field. SRHS won the AAAA Division and earned top overall Music Performance, best Visual Performance, top Music Effect Performance and was the overall Tournament Champion.

The Falcons Marching Band placed second out of 15 schools competing in its division during the CSBC Semi-Finals competition with a score of 86.9 on Nov. 11 in Orange County. The Falcons qualified to compete in this weekend’s CSBC Division Finals, performing with such skill that the band was invited to participate in the evening’s Grand Championships.

Countless hours of hard work and dedication have led the students to this season’s unforgettable accomplishments. Earlier this year, Shedd explained that the band members put in about seven hours in a week; after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Thursday evenings and sometimes extra rehearsals, in addition to class time during the days.

Elaine Rosen graciously contributed information and writing for this article.