With competition season having recently begun, Susuqehannock’s marching band is excited about the prospect of winning their new season.

Junior Ryan Reeves plays baritone for the marching band in this year’s show.

“It’s called ‘The Garden,’ and it was made by Rob Stein,” Reeves said.

Reeves explains how this year’s show is different from many of the band’s shows in the past.

“Two years ago, my freshman year, we did Cirque … most people still agree that was our best show,” Reeves said. “Last year’s show, which I was a part of, was very high energy. Overall, since the same person is making the movements, and the drills, it’s still similar but obviously everything is new.”

Junior Shaun Donnally plays trumpet for the marching band and is the junior drum major.

“[This year’s show is] definitely a lot more peaceful, a lot more calm,” Donnally said. “Last year, our show was really chaotic– it was about shattering, and breaking, so, this one’s a lot more– it’s just different.”

On Saturday, Oct. 5, the band performed at Conrad Weiser High School for the band’s first performance of their competition season, scoring 80-2.

“We won, so, I’m guessing we did pretty good,” Reeves said. “We also got awards for color guard and percussion. A lot of people, maybe like ¾ of the band, said it was their best run. So, overall we performed really well.”

Senior Avery Broadaway plays the trumpet and is the high brass section leader. Broadaway is aware of the dedication that goes into marching band from everyone involved.

“During competition season, we work hard to make significant progress in our routine each week,” Broadaway said. “We are constantly adding new elements to the show and strive to raise our performance level in preparation for championships.”

The band had another competition last Saturday, on Oct. 19. Donnally notes how the band improved, even since their performance the following Saturday.

“We had the biggest increase of score from any other band there,” Donnally said. “I’m pretty proud of us for that. We put in a lot of work, and we’re going to keep putting in a lot of work. So, hopefully, we’re going to see our scores go up even more.”

Such improvement, however, comes at the price of marching band being a major commitment to every student involved. Reeves is aware of the dedication that comes along with both marching band as well as competition season.

“We have a lot of props this year– there’s the bridge, and then there’s 8 torii gates and 8 backdrops– so we get there an hour earlier than normal at 9 a.m. to help with props,” Reeves said. “Then we practice until around 2 p.m. …then it’s an hour and a half bus ride, and we get home at around 1-2 a.m. That’s definitely the hard part of competitions.”

Competition season can bring the entire marching band together as they work toward the common goal of improving their show each week.

“There’s definitely a big sense of comradery,” Reeves said. “We watched our show from Friday, and we’re all very excited about that because it is a very, very good show. Seeing a show come together is really, really satisfying.”

Donnally also sees the major positives that come with the teamwork of the band.

“Seeing our band succeed and seeing everyone super excited about our wins [is my favorite part of the experience],” Donally said.

This coming Saturday, the marching band will be performing in the Bands of America Mid Atlantic Regional at the University of Delaware. BOA is a nationwide circuit for marching bands. The top 12 bands to perform on Saturday will move on to finals.

Reeves is encouraged by the band’s prospects for the rest of the upcoming competition season.

“Our band is known for winning,” Reeves said. “So I’m not going to say we’re going to win, but, there is a solid chance. We won our first competition no problem, and we’re only going to get better.  And, it just feels like a good show … I’m guessing we’re going to win.”