The Jesuit Ursuline Ranger Band placed fourth in Class A at Mansfield High School’s Preview of Champions contest on September 23, 2023. As the first competition of the year, Mr. Putnam gave an explanation as to why it is important:
“Our goal in participating in the Preview of Champions contest is to provide an opportunity for members of the band to get quality feedback from professional adjudicators who specialize in various aspects of band.” – Mr. Putnam
Preparation
Band competitions are a rush, and September 23 was no different. After an 11:00 PM 
dismissal, band members arrive early on a warm September morning, ready for final rehearsal. Soon after, the buses are loaded with all of the drumline and front ensemble equipment alongside other large instruments/props. Then, JURB anxiously begins the 45-minute bus ride to Vernon Newsom Stadium, an 11,000-seat stadium in the center of MISD.
The band arrived an hour before their performance time and began to warm up behind the stadium. The weather was a hot 95° and winds of around 20 miles per hour, meaning proper warm-up was extremely important.
Finally, with just 15 minutes left, the musicians grabbed some water from the water station and marched onto the field.
The Contest
The performance was an unusual challenge for many reasons. High temperatures and winds are unusual occurrences during marching band performances. This kind of extreme weather makes intonation, tone quality, and projection a greater challenge. Despite this obstacle, the band put their best foot forward and performed their show. Band president and tuba player, Patrick Murphy, had this to say about the event.
“Like always, there is definitely room for improvement, nonetheless, our performance was solid.” – Patrick Murphy ’24
JURB performed the first three movements of their show: Music for a Dark Knight and a portion of their closer, featuring Spiderman.Â
The judges then finish their evaluations and record scores with comments that will be given to the band directors. This feedback is the most valuable part of midseason competitions.
The judging is divided into four categories: music, visual, percussion, and color guard. Each
judge provides written comments as well as an audio recording of their live reaction to the show, containing the most important comments and suggested improvements. These comments can range from suggested visual changes, such as changing the count of a step-off, musical changes (balance between instruments and volume/dynamics), or anything the judges enjoyed about the performance. After listening to the recordings themselves, the directors allow the students opportunities to listen to the judges’ comments, too. The most common comment on our performance was working on balance. With just under 50 people in the band, this challenge was to be expected, however, there is always room for improvement.
As a member of the band, I enjoyed being able to hear their critiques and commendations so I could fix any issues I had before the directors said anything.
Post Performance
After JURB’s performance, the whole crew went back to the trucks and busses to load their instruments and enjoy some much-needed AC.
“Members of the band have the opportunity to watch the performances of other bands, allowing them to see and hear firsthand what these concepts look and sound like.” – Mr. Putnam
One of the best parts of performing at a competition first is that you can watch other bands perform, too. JURB watched bands from all over the metroplex, which would seem like a normal occurrence. However, at football games, JURB must watch the other school’s show from the away or home side depending upon the game. So, getting to watch from above was a great way to learn more about the competition and learn new things from the way they performed.
Back Home
The ride back home was full of tired performers, ready for a (hopefully) restful weekend ahead. After returning to Jesuit, the instruments are unloaded and the directors give their final thoughts. After two long days of band, JURB finally received a much-needed weekend to relax and recover.
If you play an instrument or would like to be part of music program, email Mr. Putnam so the directors can find a spot for you!
Stay tuned to the Jesuit Roundup for more Jesuit fine arts coverage!
