Marching band closes out season

At precisely 7:10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, the Samo Viking Marching Band marched onto the field at Warren High School.The musicians were dressed in royal blue and black uniforms, black gloves and starched gauntlets. The final touch was a black Aussie hat topped with a large white plume, which symbolizes the pride of the performance and the honor of the school. Though commonly associated with football, this performance was not just a half-time show at a football game. Instead, it was the Southern California Schools Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA)  Field Tournament, a competition among the top 12 5A division marching bands in Southern California. Once the warm-up was complete, the props- including ground tarps, various tables and graphics mounted on A-frames and front stands- were arrayed out on the field. The front ensemble, made up of musicians who play mallet instruments, such as xylophones, drums and marimbas, wheeled out their stationary instruments to the front of the field. Once the band had set up their props, the color guard readied their flags, sabers and rifles in preparation for the show’s commencement. The leaders of the performance, Drum Major Oliver Orduna (’20) and Assistant Drum Major Audrey Moeller (’21) scaled the platforms, which were assembled at the front and back of the field, donned their hats, raised their arms and began the performance.During the following 10 minutes, the band performed its 2019 field show entitled “The Bard” featuring music from “Romeo and Juliet” by Tschaikovsky, “Pineapple Poll” by Arthur Sullivan, “This Cruel Moon” by John Mackey, “Festive Overture” by Shostakovich and a piece inspired by Shakespeare, known as “The Bard of Avon.” Band director Kevin McKeown commented on his favorite part of this most recent performance. “My favorite moment was every rehearsal and performance when we set up for the beginning. I just love the way we sounded playing the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ theme. It sounded mature and way beyond what most high school bands sound like,” McKeown said. With the routine done, the band quickly evacuated the field, and the next marching band, lined up just outside the field, filed in. The precision of timing, process for donning uniforms and various set rules are vestiges of a marching band’s function in the military. At the end of the evening, after all 12 bands performed, Samo earned fifth place and the color guard placed third out of the 12 competing color guards. With a score of 89.25, the Samo marching band was only 0.15 behind fourth place and 0.25 behind third. Throughout the season, the band placed first in their division in each of the five tournaments they attended. Furthermore, they won several sweepstakes awards in the music effect and music performance categories. The marching band was established in 1915 and has been a pillar of the Samo community ever since. McKeown has been band director since 2012 and explained what he believes makes the extra-curricular activity special. “It is arguably one of the most special things on this campus. The fact that we have students coming from so many different experiences [that] all show up at 7 a.m. every day ready to work hard and ready to put up with me [is great]. I find that to be something that inspires me to want to go and teach every day. I am really proud of them and already miss the season. I can’t wait for the next,” McKeown said.