September 16, 2017 kicked off the competition season for the Hawthorne High School Marching Band. While you may think a marching band competition is just about the music, you are mistaken. The marching band includes the color guard as well, or as some uneducated people may call it, “flag twirlers.”

For rookies in the marching band, this was their very first competition. The band is directed by Mr. Keith Williams, along with drum majors Genessy Cintron and Nikki Schuldt. The color guard coaches are Mrs. Ferrigno and Ms. Bylinski, and it is led by captain Kasey Mendez and lieutenant Jamie Lessner. The competition itself was held in Jefferson Township.

After the routines were practiced, the marching band was ready to perform second in our division, 2a. After having performed three songs, “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles, “Call Me” by Blondie, and “Creep” by Radiohead, we watched South Plainfield High School Marching Band perform, the only other band in our division.

South Plainfield Band’s theme was “Angels and Demons,” and it was portrayed beautifully through the usage of angelic wings, the use of different colored flags, and red rifles. The Hawthorne High Band’s theme was “Plugged In,”and utilized a phone prop and hashtags, to represent social media, something modern day teens can’t go without.

By the end of the competition we had placed 2nd in our division with a score of 75.045 out of 100. We all enjoyed the other performances, and hope to gain some inspiration and to improve.

To close, here are the wise words of Mr. Williams. He said, “The band is off to a great start this season and just had an excellent performance at Jefferson High School in the first competition of the year. I’m very excited to see the show evolve and to see what the students are capable of as the season progresses. They’ve been working hard and it shows. I wish them good luck in their second competition in Ramsey on 9/30.”