On Saturday, East Noble’s Marching Knights went up against North Side’s Marching Redskins in a marching band competition of the ages! Okay, that may sound a tad bit too dramatic, but it definitely served its purpose as a good hook!

On Saturday, DeKalb High School held its annual Marching Band Invitational. Eighteen bands were there, spanning six different classes, each of which are based on the size of the school. Two bands fit in as Class B bands: North Side and East Noble. Last year, East Noble took first place at the same invitational, so this year, it had a title to defend.

East Noble’s Marching Knights arrived at ENHS in the morning, starting practice at 11:00 AM. All day they practiced with one short break at 1:00. Practice was finally over at 4:15. Sunburns ran rampant. Feet hurt. Stomachs grumbled. These didn’t faze the band, though. Pain is something they’re very familiar with. After half an hour of loading equipment and instruments, the band was treated with an amazing meal of chicken alfredo and pasta with red sauce, accompanied by a side of garlic bread, fruit, and a cookie, all prepared by the amazing East Noble Band Boosters!

With full stomachs, rested limbs, and soothed burns, the band changed into their uniforms and sat down in the band room for an emotional meeting/pep talk. Tears were shed as Mr. Muñoz played a meaningful song for the students. He then released them to their buses. After a rather uneventful 30 minutes, DeKalb High School came into their view. Stamps were given, marking the students as band members, and they were cleared to retrieve their instruments. Meetings were held in the band’s small sections, one for each instrument. Then warm-ups began.

The band laid down their shakos (the cool hats with feathers) on the ground with their instruments and stretched, exercised, and went over fundamental marching techniques. It was the best visual warm-up the band has ever had. Then it began its musical warm-up, during which instruments are tuned and the show is played over. Finally, it was time for the performance. The Marching Knights entered the stadium area as North Side was finishing their performance. The heat was on. North Side was good, and to keep the title as champions, East Noble had to be better. As they walked out onto the field, the crowd screamed and yelled in excitement.

Then the show started.

Drum Major Daniel Kane stood on his podium, reciting the story of a young peasant boy, performed by Brandon Nichols, on his quest to win the fair tournament and marry the queen, performed by Carmen Johnson. His speech was accompanied by a mellophone solo, played by Meghan Nowels, and a flute solo, played by Cynthia Lowe. As the speech ended, the band played the loud initial notes of their first hit, “Scarborough Fair” by Andrew Boysen Jr. And with that, they knew that this was going to be the best show they had performed.

The show went along beautifully, the first movement ending as the peasant boy shot an arrow into the bullseye of a target. At the start of the second movement, the boy was given a reward for winning the archery contest. The band played “Black is the Color,” a slower piece. They ended kneeling down. This started the final movement and an energetic piece, “Homage to Perotin,” followed by a reprise to “Scarborough Fair.” During this movement, the boy pulled a sword out of a stone, paying respects to the story of King Arthur. And then the show was over. All too fast, the beautiful story on the field was a memory of the audience.

The band returned to the buses to wind down before going back out for rewards. Announcements for the Scholastic Classes went by, followed by Class C and D bands. Finally, it was time to announce the captions and scores for Class B. The first caption: Visual Effect. “North Side!” the announcer yelled out. Some students felt their hearts drop and their hope fail. Next caption: Music. “East Noble!” Cheers echoed from the students. Then it was time for the last caption, students in both bands inevitably feeling a slight anxiety in their guts.

General Effect. “East Noble!”

The band was in an uproar, thrilled. Two captions almost guaranteed a first place victory, and sure enough, the Marching Knights were right, taking first place with a score of 62.10. After a bout of excited shouting, the band walked back to the buses, loaded up, and went home—as champions.