M.H.S. Rams band is ‘superior,’earns highest rating at State Marching Band Festival

On Saturday, Nov. 8, the Maricopa High School Marching Rams attended the Division IV State Marching Band Festival.

Division IV includes bands from 1A, 2A and 3A schools, as well as bands with less than 45 members from 4A and 5A schools. The Arizona Music Educators Association and the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association sponsor the event.

The band received a performance rating of ‘Superior’ from all three judges, which is the highest rating possible.

The newly formed Rams Color Guard, instructed by Maria Pour, received a caption award for ‘Outstanding Auxiliary,’ and the band overall received an award for ‘Outstanding General Effect.’

Director Ivan Pour stated, “The students had a wonderful experience at the festival and celebrated their success together on the field for some time after the event ended (see photo). The band has worked extremely hard this year and has shown much improvement from the beginning of the season to this final performance. Their first time in festival, the group only managed a ‘good’ (average) rating. They spent the next weeks working on improving their marching technique and musical execution. They learned about the proper balance of a band and about blending their sounds together to make a single, unified sound.

“At the Eastern Arizona College band day, they improved to an ‘excellent’ rating and now they have improved to ‘superior,’ said Pour. “Their success has been shown by numerous comments from their judges at the state festival about how they are a well-balanced band with an excellent sound.”

Pour added, “Our Color Guard team has also shown a great deal of improvement. All of the members except one are new to the activity and have learned how to work with several different kinds of flags and props. They have added a whole new level of visual interest to the band’s performance, and they played a large role in the two captions the band was awarded on Saturday.”

The band will be reviewing their marching music in a “Pass in Review” segment at their Winter Concert on Dec. 18, and the Color Guard will be running a Winter Guard program and will be doing some performances throughout the spring semester.

The community should be extremely proud of the efforts of these young men and women, noted Pour. They are looking forward to a great conclusion to this year and another exciting marching season next year.

For more information about the band and other fine arts offerings, please contact the high school at (520) 568-8100 or visit the district Website at www.musd.org.

Submitted photos