by Ammie Bryant
After thirteen weeks of rehearsals, the Stillwater High School Marching Band is looking forward to the culmination of their marching season. This Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 the Pioneers will compete at the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association (OBA) State Championships Contest in Owasso followed by the OSSAA West Regional Marching Contest on the following Tuesday, Nov. 5 in Yukon.
Before the Band closes their marching season they will perform the complete show one last time for the community at 7 p.m. on Fri, Nov. 1, 2019 at the Pioneer Stadium. The band is not traveling with the football team that night, paving the way for this special performance.
The Pioneers have competed against schools from five states this fall with outstanding results. On Sept. 28th, the SHS Band competed at the Owasso Invitational where they placed second in their class’s preliminary round and ninth overall at finals. On Oct. 5th, the Band traveled to Mustang where they placed first in prelims and fourth overall in finals. Then on Oct. 12th, the Pioneers competed at Tulsa Union where they again placed second in prelims and fifth overall in the finals.
“The students have done an amazing job with their performances at all of these contests so far. We are all very proud of how hard they’ve worked so far this season, and can’t wait to see how much farther they can go before the season ends,” said SHS Director of Bands Kevin Zamborsky. “We are excited to have the opportunity to present a performance of the complete show one last time in Stillwater for our families, friends, and supporters.”
This year’s show title, “Eighty-Eight,” references the keys on a piano. Each of the musical selections in the show features well-known classical and popular works that were originally composed for the piano including “Chopsticks,” “Fur Elise,” “Moonlight Sonata,” Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” Elton John’s “Your Song,” Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer,” Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy” from Peanuts, and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
The Stillwater community is invited to come show their support for the SHS Marching Band as they perform “Eighty-Eight” a final time for their hometown crowd.
“It will be a great opportunity for people here to see how much the students have improved this year, and a chance for our students to have one final show before competing for the state championship,” said Zamborsky.
Pioneer Stadium gates will open no later than 6:30 p.m. with the show performance time set for 7 p.m.