High School band life is a symphony of dedication. From early-morning rehearsals to late-night performances, students forge musical bonds that echo beyond the practice room. Friendships and creating a unique rhythm that defines the school band experience are some of the most important things for our students at Wesley Chapel High.
The WCHS band participated in the Florida Marching Band Championships from November 7th to October 21st in 2023, winning first place in the 4A division with the best general effect, color guard, and visual performance. Our high school band also triumphantly won 2nd place overall, second only to Tarpon High School’s marching band which is nationally recognized as a professional Drum Corp.
15 other High School Marching bands from the Pasco County area participated in the 2023 FMBC. The WCHS marching band beat 14 of those high schools. We interviewed band member Emily Castaneda to give us all the details on the outcome and lead-up of the competition. Here are some of the questions we asked!
What songs did the band perform?
“We performed all the pieces of Randell Standbridge’s “The Divine Comedy”, which had 4 total movements;”Movement Intro”, Movement 2: The Inferno“, “Movement 3: Purgatorio“, and “Movement 4: Paraiso“. They were really fun pieces and the choreography we had to do while playing them brought a new level of difficulty to them.”
What type of work went into preparing for the competition?
“We had long practices after school every other day of the week so we had to make sure we were getting enough sleep and eating well before any long competitions. Our band director always tried to drive home the idea that we had to work hard and retain everything we did during rehearsals if we wanted to score well in competitions and succeed as musicians.”
Out of the 15 high schools that performed at the FMBC finals, the WCHS band worked hard and took 2nd place in their competition. Another win for our very talented and dedicated group of musicians at Wesley Chapel High School. Thanks to the band’s hard work ethic and excellent performance, they managed to bring home yet another trophy for WCHS.
Overall, being a member of the WCHS marching band is a lot of work but it is extremely rewarding because of the numerous benefits that come along with performing together, including friendship, life skills, an increased work ethic, and much more. The band is an entirely group effort where everyone needs to pull their own weight in order for the group to succeed.
