MCHS Band wins third Atlantic Coast Championship!
Posted on: November 4, 2024
The MCHS Marching Band won their third Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast Championship title in Hersheypark Stadium on Sunday. The band scored 90.70 in TOB’s Group 4-Open Class and also won the Specialty Awards for Best Music, Visual, Drum Line and Color Guard.
Band Director Art Belfiore said, “It has been a challenging year for us. If you have ever participated in any high school competitive activity you know every year is different. That was a constant for the band this year. We had a different location for Band Camp, we practiced in a different location and the biggest change for us was we did a different type of show. Including actors and lots of props was a HUGE challenge for the staff because it took so much more planning. It was radically different for the students because they had to incorporate actors into the marching and drill.”
“In the end, the more things changed for us, the more they stayed the same. We had a great season and ended it with our best performance. The “icing on the cake” was another championship. It was especially gratifying since we had so many young students, 2 Sixth grade students who were 11 years old and 6 Seventh graders.”
The most experienced member of the band, Bailey Cullen, said, “Walking off the field after the performance with his fellow seniors was fun, and to be together in the moment was comforting. I am excited to be done after 7 years in the band. I started when I was 11 and I am now 18. The seven years were worth it and fun because I was in the band with some of my best friends.”
The band will now transition to the Indoor programs of Drum Line, Dance Team and Guard but the staff has already picked a show for next fall and are working on it every day. With the new stadium complex next year will once again be different but will be the start of a new era.
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