October 30, 2018
By: Bill Conger
The DeKalb County High School Band made the magic of “Phantom of the Opera” come alive on the marching field at Saturday’s (October 27) Foothills Classic in Seymour, TN.
“They came home with 1st place in their respective class and were close in numbers to other much bigger bands,” says DCHS Band Director Tracy Luna. “Percussion and color guard both were awarded 2nd place to end their competitive seasons.”
The band has taken home a first place finish in all of its contests this year in middle Tennessee. This was the first time Luna and Assistant Director Jonathan Holland had taken the band to the east Tennessee contest.
“The judges used the Tennessee Bandmaster’s Association judges’ sheets that utilize a rubric system of evaluation,” Luna explained. “So, essentially these sheets are supposed to represent a more objective snapshot of the band’s overall performance.
Often, these competitions are skewed toward the bigger bands, but the Fighting Tiger Marching Band held their own in their third consecutive 1st place finish. These accolades come with just under half the band being brand new to marching band.”
The marching band season begins to wind down with this Friday’s state playoff game between the Tigers and Maplewood High School in Nashville. Luna says the band was invited to perform at the Tennessee Tech Homecoming parade on Saturday. Coming up next the musicians will get into the Yuletide spirit to perform at three Christmas parades and a Christmas concert December 11 at the county complex.