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Marching Bulldogs Top Three At Citywide Drum & Bugle Championship

Band students earn bronze during annual Chicago Department of JROTC event.

By: Julie Ayala '11 & Daisy Guzman '11

Marine Math & Science Academy (MMSA) has only been open for three years, so everything we’ve competed in has been new to us and we’ve tried our hardest. This hard work has definitely paid off for MMSA band. On May 24th, the MMSA Band participated in the Citywide Drum & Bugle Competition at Gately Stadium. After the judges added up their scorecards, MMSA had placed 3rd for the overall marching band.

Every year the Department of JROTC hosts a Drum & Bugle Competition for top teams who were selected by their respective programs. This year, 16 schools participated in the competition. Each school gets judged for drum line, bugle corps, and the band overall. Rickover Naval Academy came in first, followed by Prosser in second place and MMSA in third.

The MMSA Band Director Mr. Schilling went to the competition with 20 MMSA Cadets. They all started off as beginning band students. Due to our schedule, they only had half the school year to learn how to play their instruments, march in different formations, and memorize the music they would be playing. They didn’t have a lot of time to prepare but they all pulled through. The band memorized three songs to play in the competition: The Marines Hymn, Lets Go Band, and Jump on it. They got many compliments for doing well in their first competition; students that competed were very pleased for placing third in competition. “The competition was tough because the other schools have had more experience with competing, so it was surprising for us to get third place.” Said Mr. Schilling.

Even if Mr. Schilling was pleased with this year’s competition, he is already looking forward to next year. Most band members like Solomon Ramos ‘12 and Derico Williams ’12 will continue to be in band next year, and they’re excited to improve on this year’s finish. “We aren’t satisfied with just 3rd place, we hope to return next year and win the whole thing.” Said Ramos.

With the new A/B block schedule MMSA will be adapting to next year, this gives the band more time to practice, adapt, and prefect their performance for competition.
(Check the Photo Album Icon soon for pictures from the event.)