Band Performance Brings Pride to SSFHS

The South San Francisco High School (SSFHS) Warrior Pride Marching Band recently placed first in the following categories at the October 12 Cupertino Tournament of Bands:

•    Band in class
•    Percussion
•    Color guard

This performance followed a second place finish a week earlier at the October 5 Feste Del Mar in San Jose.

“In my years of teaching high school marching band, I have never seen what I saw on Saturday,” said SSFHS Band and Choir Director Patrick Harris. “From a band that has not done a field show in almost 10 years, people were extremely excited and impressed with their performance.”

Harris, who took over as band director at SSFHS this year, said the band had not previously competed in the field marching category, limiting themselves to parade performances only.

“In field marching, bands are judged on musical performance, the visual performance of the color guard, and how well the drum majors conduct the percussion section, which includes xylophones, marimba bells, and the drum line,” Harris said.

According to Harris, field performances are more difficult, because band members must march in different formations, while playing three to four songs from memory.
 

In contrast, bands that participate in the parade or band review category walk in a straight line up a parade block that is one-third of a mile long and are not required to memorize music.

“The students who have remained in band are working hard and realize how good they are,” said Harris. It’s great to see them excited about a different aspect of music they never explored before.”

Despite falling within the Northern California Band Association’s 2A division for bands of between 51-70 students, the Warrior Pride Marching Band often competes against and outperforms bands from other schools with as many as 200 students.

“It’s extremely exciting to see our students have a sense of pride and confidence,” said Harris. “During the Del Mar competition on October 5, our drum majors, who had never conducted a 4/4 pass pattern when I met them, placed higher than a band that had about 200 kids as did our color guard.”


The Warrior Pride marching band will close out the fall season with two more performances at the Folsom High School Fall Festival Field Show on November 2 and the Tournament of Champions at Fairfield High School on November 16.