Cortney St. John
Round Table editor

The Knights field lit up, the stands filled and the crowd was eager to get started. I know what you are thinking: is it a football game? No, it is the annual Frederick County Public Schools Marching Band Festival.

 The Festival was held on Oct. 18 and was hosted by the Middletown High School Marching Knights and the band boosters.

 This year is my second year in marching band at MHS, and this is my eighth year playing clarinet. I enjoy marching band because you make new friends and you get to watch other bands perform their shows. At the county festival we were able to watch Oakdale high school, Frederick high school and Urbana high school perform their shows before we had to get ready to perform ours.

 The Oakdale Bears Marching Band show was “The Legend of Ursa Major.” I enjoyed watching and listening to the newest marching band in Frederick County perform. The band was small but it takes a lot to get a brand new band started. I can’t wait to see how well they will progress in years to come. Their show was entertaining to watch as the story of the Great Bear constellation, Ursa Major, came alive.

 The music balance was excellent and the band projected their sound well. I also enjoyed watching the color guard convey the “story” with their different color flags. They performed well together throughout the show and had smiles on their faces which made the whole show enjoyable to watch.

 The Frederick High School Marching Band show was called “Discovery.” Their show included music from composer Joseph Curiale. The songs selections were: “Call of the Mountain,” “Adelina de Maya,” “River of Tears” and “Joy.”

 The marching band featured a baton twirler who was very skilled and entertaining. She caught her baton every time she tossed it into the air and her dancing skills were excellent. The color guard performed well with their smiles and the different flags and props they used looked good. The color guard was together in most parts but not the whole performance. When I watched their show I noticed that they knew all the flag movements, they just need to work on getting it together with the other color guard members. Their show presented music that most people have never heard and they presented the music in an enjoyable way to listen to.

 The Urbana Mighty Hawks Marching Band show was “VII, It’s All Around You.” The first movement presented each of the seven deadly sins: lust, greed, sloth, neglect, pride, envy, and wrath. The second movement presented the seven seas which wash away the evils of sin. The third movement presented the seas transformation into the seven colors of the rainbow with the music “Illumination” by Jeff Beal. The final movement presented “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

 My favorite part of their performance was the final movement with the music “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The marching style and fundamentals were admirable. I also enjoyed the music because it was a tune that everyone knows and the balance was perfect when they played it. During the fourth movement the color guard had different colors of flags to represent the colors of the rainbow. The pit and drum line were together and balanced during the fourth movement. It was fun getting to watch them perform this year because last year at the United States Scholastic Band Association competitions we competed against them and were never able to watch.

 When all the high school bands were done presenting their shows the Shepherd University Ram Band presented their show to everyone. Their performance show had a lot of exciting components in it; they sang, danced and marched.

 At the end of the night every band received a participation trophy and received their performance show evaluation and score. I enjoy the county festival because it is a great chance to see other bands in your “neighborhood” perform.