Schools

Roosevelt Marching Band Qualifies for State Finals

This is the first time in school history that the Wyandotte Marching Chiefs will compete at the statewide competition, which takes place Saturday at Ford Field.

Members of the marching band have stepped up their game this year and now are about to show thousands of people what they’re made of.

After a superior finish at the Huron Valley Invitational on Saturday, the band learned that it has qualified for the state finals and will perform Saturday at Ford Field.

While has had good finishes in years past, this is the first time the band has qualified for the state finals.

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"Heading to state finals is a big victory for our band,” said Mark D'Angelo, Roosevelt’s instrumental music director. “The kids and the staff work hard every year at providing the best possible performances for our audiences and it is really exciting and fulfilling when all that hard work is recognized throughout the state."

The Michigan Competing Bands Association, which sponsors the state finals, divides high school bands into four flights depending on the number of students enrolled at the school. Wyandotte is in Flight II, which has them competing against other schools such as Woodhaven, Southgate Anderson and . (See PDF above.)

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In order to make it to the finals, bands from across the state compete on Saturdays through September and October and are scored by a panel of judges on the musical, visual and general effect of each performance. Their scores are tallied throughout the two months to determine the finalists.

Historically, the top 10 bands in each flight qualified for the state finals. The rules changed this year and now allow the top 12 bands to compete. Roosevelt ranked 10th this year in Flight II.

"There have been over 200 graduates of our marching band program that had hopes of performing at the state finals and we are very pleased to finally see all the hard work pay off,” D'Angelo said.

"When the band first began competing, it was mainly to expose the kids to other marching programs across the state. Over the last four years, however, it has become more of a goal for us to be viewed as a competitive program. I have always stressed the value of performance and the pursuit of excellence in the RHS band program, regardless of placement or accolades, but these kids are deserving of this opportunity."


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