‘Milestone’ for MHS Rams marching band

75

The Maricopa Rams marching band will be heading to the Division III State Marching Band Festival after earning an overall rating of “excellent” this past weekend at the Agua Fria Music Along the Estrellas Invitational.

“The band gave their best performance of the year,” said Rams Music Director Ivan Pour. “This is a huge milestone for our program.”

The excellent rating is the band’s best since moving to the division in the 2009 season and the first time in school history the band will compete in the Division III State Marching Festival, held Nov. 6 at Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen.

 If the band makes the top 10 at that festival, they qualify for the State Championship Festival on Nov. 13 at Phoenix College.
 
The rating was not the only accolade the band received. For the second straight competition, the band received four of the five “caption” awards.

They received captions in auxiliary (colorguard), visual performance, general effect and music performance.

“This shows improvement in the performance of the music which was the main area we needed to improve after our last festival.,” Pour said. “If you see our wonderful band students, be sure to congratulate them. They are working harder than ever before, and they are one of the most incredible groups of students I have had the pleasure of working with.”