Schools
McLean Highlander Marching Band Wins in Back-to-Back Competitions
Highlander Band Awarded 3rd Place and 1st Place Finishes in Two Area Competitions
By: Jennifer L.M. Henshall
It was back-to-back weekend wins for the McLean Highlander Marching Band, as they kicked off their competitive season on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at The Pride of Herndon's 27th Annual Showcase of Bands in Herndon, VA.
In partnership with the Virginia Marching Band Cooperative, a non-profit marching band circuit that educationally and artistically supports Virginia bands, The Pride of Herndon, Herndon High School's Marching Band, hosted 35 local ensembles as part of their regional fall marching contest. McLean placed 3rd out of the 35 participants and was awarded for Best Color Guard and Best Percussion. In addition to their third place finish, the Highlander marchers won 1st Place in Ensemble Music and 1st Overall in General Effect Visual.
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Band Director, Chris Weise, praised the 150-piece ensemble stating, "Congratulations on a fantastic first competition last night at VMBC Herndon! You all had a great run - the best that we’ve seen so far. You did an incredible job pulling everything together and putting it all out there for everyone to see and enjoy."
Just one week later, on October 5, the Highlanders traveled to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis to participate in the Marine Corps Invitational organized by USBands, the largest sanctioning body for scholastic music competitions in the United States. Propelled by their strong finish the previous weekend, McLean swept the competition and took home 1st Place Overall and awards for Best Music, Best Guard, Best Visual, Best Effect and Best Percussion. Their toe-tapping show, Big Country, featuring songs The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Big Country and Take Me Home Country Roads, brought down the house and topped the 33-band competition with the highest score of the day -- an impressive 88.2 points.
"The judges loved you and loved the show," Weise said, complimenting the marchers on another sound performance. "The audience loved you all, too, and you could hear their excitement from the beginning of the show until the final note. At the end, they were even singing along with Country Roads - what a way to compliment the past nine weeks of all of your hard work!"
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If you're interested in catching the Big Country excitement live, the band will be performing during the half-time show at the McLean Homecoming football game on Friday, October 18th at 7 p.m. when the Highlanders take on Herndon High School.
Many thanks to the McLean community for its unwavering support of the band program!
About the McLean Highlander Band
The McLean High School (MHS) Band Program provides a vibrant, award-winning, musical experience for students and audiences alike. Supported by a talented and dedicated staff and parents' organization, the MHS Band Program provides students multiple venues to grow in their musicianship and leadership while making lifelong friendships along the way. The program is committed to the achievement of musical excellence in all areas and at all levels of
performance. For a list of upcoming events and concerts, please visit
the band’s website at https://www.mcleanband.org/.
