East Ridge High School Band Fantastic Journey To State Finals
This year, East
Ridge High School’s 155 member marching band made history, not only the school’s history, but also in their district
for marching bands. East Ridge participated in the FMBC (Florida Marching Band
Championships) state finals this past Saturday night (November 21st). They were ranked 4th in Class 4A and an overall rank of 14th
in the state of Florida.
This was indeed a truly rewarding experience for these students as they were reminded of those before them who had
competed in state semi-finals, but had not participated in state finals. It was
wonderful to see many old band members at the performance supporting these students.
ERHS started
their festival season on October 17th by attending the Tarpon Springs Outdoor Music Festival ranking 4th
in their class with an overall score of 78.91. Then it was onward to the Santa
Fe Southern Showcase of Champions on October 31st. During preliminary competition,
they achieved a score of 83.95 ranking 1st in class. The Marching
Knights received awards for the Best Drum Major, Best Percussion, Best General Effect and Best Visual. During final competition that night, they received a score of 81.50 with an overall ranking of 3rd
and received the award for Best Percussion. The percussion ensemble played the
cadence for the showcase of bands. There were many proud parents and supporters
as we watched our kids play as the 10 bands who participated in the final competition
marched onto the field.
Just so the kids
didn’t get too rusty between competitions, the following weekend, the Knights traveled to Leesburg to participate in
the FBA (Florida Bandmasters Association) assessment and received straight superiors.
Unfortunately, the band was not able to stay for the awards as we left immediately after competition to travel to Auburndale
to participate in the Imperial South of Champions competition. Our band came
from out of the blue (to the spectators as we went straight to warm up upon our arrival and then to perform) to achieve a
score of 88.4, ranked 1st in their class and ranked 2nd in the overall competition. These students again achieved Best Percussion, Best Auxiliary, Best Visual, Best General Effect and Best
in Music. What an exciting Knight!
As you can see,
this has been a busy group! But the best was yet to come, November 21st
in St. Petersburg, Florida at the Tropicana Dome, the Marching Knights participated in the Florida Marching Band Championships.
The percussion section and the music ensemble were ranked best in class 4A in the state of Florida. The band placed 4th
in class 4A state finals, what an accomplishment for a band who has only been in existence for 7 years. Jack Hart, band director
Jon T. North, associate director and Doris Jones Color Guard Sponsor would like to thank the Lake County School Board, the
ERHS Administrative staff, parents volunteers and alumni supporters for their encouragement throughout this marching season
.These students are awesome!
I’m sure
you join me in congratulating these students, the staff and our volunteers on a successful season.
