GILROY
– The Gilroy High School marching band is celebrating its first
major title in 10 years after winning the Western Band Association
field show championships held Nov. 23 in San Diego.
GILROY – The Gilroy High School marching band is celebrating its first major title in 10 years after winning the Western Band Association field show championships held Nov. 23 in San Diego.
The marching Mustangs out-pointed 12 other schools around the state last Saturday, performing to music by Danny Elfman that he scored for the movies “Beetlejuice” and “Nightmare Before Christmas.”
“The kids really stuck to it and rehearsed in a very focused, very efficient way over the last few weeks. That paid off,” said Joey Fortino, Gilroy High’s band director the past six years. “Each year the quality of our musicians improves. Eventually it’s tough to one-up yourself every year.”
The Mustangs compete in the Class A division for bands with 60 members or less. Other divisions are Class AA, 61 to 100 members; Class AAA, 101-140 members; and Class AAAA, 141 or more members.
Fortino was equally proud of a second performance by his squads Saturday. After the finals, bands in Classes A and AA and bands in Classes AAA and AAAA competed against each other. In that larger grouping, GHS managed a fourth place finish.
The Mustangs finished in first place five times in competitions leading up to the Nov. 23 finals. Fortino called the field show competitions “extremely competitive” in recent years.
Last year, GHS lost the championship to Buena High School of Valencia, Calif., by a few tenths of a point.
In competitions, scores are compiled by eight judges evaluating separate categories, from overall music effectiveness and music performance to individual marching technique and instrument play.
In addition to the dedication of his students, Fortino credited his staff for their role in the championship. Fortino has a cast of eight coaches working with marchers, the drum corps and color guard.
Next up for GHS musicians is concert and jazz band competitions, some of which are going on now. Those shows peak in the spring in what is known as festival season, Fortino said. Springtime will also bring special color guard and percussion competitions.
“There are lots of competitions for kids now,” Fortino said, “but still the most intense and most involved are the field shows.”
