Another sound performance was delivered by the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Marching Band.
The high school’s Marching Band put on its third performance of its 2024 show, “Journey to the Bottom of the Sea,” at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware on Saturday, October 19.
Performing in the morning, the Marching Band took the field as part of their first Bands of America (BOA) Mid-Atlantic Regional competition of the school year. The band competed in a different circuit, and thus had a different competitive pool. Competing bands came from several other states, including North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The Marching Band placed third in their AAAA division with a score of 71.200, competing alongside Carolina Forest High School from South Carolina, John P. Stevens High School from New Jersey, and Apex Friendship High School from North Carolina, the latter of which placed 1st in the AAAA division with a score of 79.000.
Next up for the Marching Band will be on Saturday, October 26, at Rutgers University SHI Stadium at another BOA Regional competition, followed by the New Jersey Marching Band Directors Association Championships at The College of New Jersey on Sunday, November 3.
At the University of Delaware on October 19, the Marching Band took the field during the morning as part of their first Bands of America (BOA) Mid-Adlantic Regional competition of the school year. The band competed in a different circuit, and thus had a different competitive pool. Competing bands came from several other states, including North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
BOA is a national competitive circuit in which the BRHS Marching Band competes based on school size rather than band size, which is the competitive comparison used in New Jersey Marching Band Directors Association (NJMBDA) competitions, placing the high school’s Band in the same competitive division and significantly larger ensembles — but the BRHS Marching Band was able to put on an impressive installation despite the size difference.
The band was nervous when performing, but despite the feeling, they pushed through to perform the best they could for the audience and judges. They performed confidently, which helped them achieve an excellent performance and score.
This performance was part of a three-day overnight trip the band took to perform alongside a wide array of extremely talented bands, including Kiski Area High School’s Marching Band from Pennsylvania. The Marching Band, after performing in the preliminary round, and spectating some finalist band performances, set off for a fun and team-building day at Six Flag’s Great Adventure.
The BRHS Marching Band is extremely proud of their improved score and successful performance at the BOA Mid-Atlantic Regional competition, especially in comparison to their score of a 56.800 from two years ago. The improvement the ensemble has made is not only underscored through their impressive score improvement but also the maturity of the ensemble and the growth the group has observed this entire season.
Freshman Aiden Del Gaudio, vibraphone player and new member, shared his perspective on the competition and the field trip experience as a whole. “My experience was overall very positive..It gave me a chance to connect with my peers in my band.”
Senior Darsh Srivastava, marimba player and 4th year member, added his point of view on how it felt to be going on the last overnight field trip of his high school career. “We had a great successful run after many months of hard work and we did much better than last year scoring wise but as a band we have grown a lot. One piece of advice I would give to the future members is to just enjoy your time while it lasts.”
