It’s a logistical challenge, but when it’s all said and done, it’s an exciting day of music and marching that helps kick off the competitive marching band season.
A grand total of 22 bands including the host school performed last Saturday during the Jefferson Classic at Monticello High School that featured a number of Central Virginia outfits performing quite well.
Albemarle High and Orange County ended up the victors in their class, with Orange’s band grabbing first place in the A grouping while Albemarle won group AAA, divisions that are based on band size. The Hornets’ auxiliary unit grabbed first in the Black Division that included 13 bands while Albemarle’s drum majors won the Gold Division that including larger bands like Chantilly and Loudoun County. Loudoun County finished the event as the overall champion.
Albemarle’s music and marching scores were both tops in the AAA class while the Patriots’ drum majors and auxiliary also took top honors in AAA.
Orange County was coming off a solid performance September 25 at the Shenandoah Valley Marching Invitational where they earned fifth place overall and first place in music, visual and overall among Group A bands.
Fluvanna County competed in the A grouping while Monticello’s band played an exhibition, traditional for the host school, to round out Central Virginia’s representation.
The event serves as the largest annual fundraiser for the Mustangs’ band, with concessions sales and trophy sponsorships producing the bulk of the profits. It also serves as an educational experience for Monticello’s own members who help coordinate the event by doing any number of odd jobs around the performances. They band members have the chance to see other marching bands of various size perform a variety of field shows.
The Monticello group has also built some critical contacts across the state through the event, which is considered a top-flight competition.
The Mustangs and Fluvanna’s band will join Charlottesville High’s group at the Lynchburg Classic this weekend. Albemarle will take the weekend off, but heads to has a busy slate to finish out October with three competitions in three weekends at the end of the month.
