Titans March With Precision To Fourth-Place Finish
Guard member Rylinn Garcia performing her set in Rhapsody in Blue at KMEA State Finals at WKU. (Photo by MercerBandMedia)
Ben Sears
Contributing Writer
[email protected]
The season came down to this past weekend. The last Saturday at the end of October is and always will be the Kentucky Music Educators Association’s semi-finals and finals in the Bluegrass State.
After advancing to the top 12 during Regional competition at South Laurel a few weeks ago, the band was scheduled to compete at Hart County High School in Munfordville this past Saturday as part of the Class-AA Semi-Finals. The top-12 bands from both the East and the West divisions came together to compete here to determine who advanced on to state finals.
Mercer put on a good show, but everyone agreed there could have been some things done better. Each student is good about holding themselves accountable and everyone is willing to work on their mistakes. They hoped it was a solid enough run to advance to finals, and they planned to work out the issues there.
The awards ceremony was upon us, and the announcer called out the placements of the bands from 12th place, down to seventh place. The Titans waited on the sideline in anticipation. It could have gone any way. Once they got down to seventh place and announced Glasgow High School, we knew. They hadn’t called our name. That meant the Titans were in the top-half.
The announcer confirmed by saying, “The top 6 bands will advance to Western Kentucky University this evening for the KMEA Class-AA State Marching Band Finals! Congratulations!” We heard our name in the top-six and this great sense of pride for those students, the parents, and the community they represent was more present than ever. A tear was shed. A few of them.
The low brass section preparing for the next move in the show. From left: Kara Gabhart (trombone), Aiden Warner (trombone) Hailey Winburn (tuba) Carter Minor (tuba) and Gabe Hopper (trombone).
We packed everything up and headed to Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. What a thrill to see the look on some of their faces when we rolled up to the stadium and they saw it for the first time. It is mesmerizing. We went to work unloading trucks and setting up props. The students went to a warm-up area to run through their music, and then suddenly, it was time to march to the field.
Walking through the entrance to the field is amazing. Something just comes over you. The hard work by the students, the staff, the parent volunteers, the school administration, all the pushing, and re-writing drill, changing music, and listening to judges tapes; all of that, came down to this moment.
The props were in place, the kids were in their spots, and the announcer called out our band’s name, “Is the band ready?” A soft piano melody starts playing followed by the sound of big city rush hour traffic. And one by one the instruments come alive and the show was off. Eight minutes of openers, closers, ballads etc. all season long. Flags tossed and caught, horn pops to the top of the bleachers, percussion features, it all came down to that night.
Eight minutes later they marched off the field for the final time. The season was ending, and what a great ending it was. All the bands lined up for retreat. Class-AA consisted of fierce competition. The results were called and they stacked up as seen here: 6th Lloyd Memorial, 5th Russell Independent, 4th Mercer, 3rd Estill Co., 2nd Hancock Co., and lastly the Class-AA state champions, Beechwood.
Hancock Co. was the contender from the west that we hadn’t seen all season. They had a great show, but pushing into the Beechwood, Estill, Mercer run we all had all season. In the end, fourth is a good place to be, and their supporters are proud. They are proud. Everyone put their best foot forward all season and it paid off. The legacy of Mercer County Band lives on for one more year.
In speaking with Director Erica Ashford, she had this to say, “This season has been a fun one to teach and be a part of for several reasons. At the end of the school year, the band sat down and came up with focus areas that they thought we needed to work on for the season, and when you have the buy in of the kids and the goal in mind, things go smoothly.”
She continued with, “ The parents also worked super hard to make sure the season was the best it could be, allowing myself and the staff to focus on achieving our goal of making state finals again. The continuous support of the school and community also helped give us a boost financially and motivated us to do our best at every performance.”
Mercer Band has a long tradition of being great. This is how Ashford explained how that continues, “This kind of activity requires all aspects of the organization to be top notch in order to achieve greatness, and I truly believe that is what led to our success. Myself, staff, students and parents are grateful for each other every day for the work we put in, and that kind of relationship on a team is what makes being a part of the band so great.”
So as the 30 bands representing five classes from Class-A to AAAAA, all walked out of the stadium Saturday night having left it all on the field, MercerBandMedia does the same today.
It has been a truly extraordinary season, and I have enjoyed coming each week to share with the community the greatness of our program. With this, I say goodnight to this season as well. From Rebecca Winburn, Mike Sims, and myself with Mercer Band Media, we tip our hats and say, “Until next year, goodnight.”
Mercer County Band is Directed by Erica Ashford with assistance from Guard Instructor Alex Smith and Percussion Instructor Jeremy Ellis. You can follow Mercer County Band on their socials, Mercer County Band on Facebook and @mercercoband on instagram.
