Saturday, October 19, the NC Marching Band (NCMB) went head to head with various other Georgia schools in competition with their 2024 show titled, “Make Your Mark.” With the 39th annual Southern Invitational Marching Championships, hosted by Sprayberry High School on Kell High School’s campus, NCMB prepared to compete alongside other schools early in the day. This year’s show, “Make Your Mark,” shocked the minds of audiences and judges as NC students perfected their technique — whether part of the color guard or as a marcher — leading the band to earn the title of the 2024 grand champion across all bands.
“I knew the band had given it all they got and that we had an amazing run but I guess I hadn’t realized the magnitude of it. We are surrounded by passionate musicians, teachers and students who care and I think we all worked hard for those awards. Then it just happened, we got award after award, then the announcer said ‘Our grand champion in the open division…North Cobb High School’ and I think I smiled bigger than I have ever smiled before. I was just extremely proud and extremely grateful,” magnet junior drum major Simran Kant said.
Led by drum majors Kant and juniors Ian Taylor and Kasselyn Barrios, the 2024 production, “Make Your Mark,” followed the well-known children’s book “The Dot,” written by Peter H. Reynolds, showcasing how a simple dot can eventually turn into an extravagant painting. This year’s show featured several hit songs including Disney’s “Inside Out” theme song, “Bundle of Joy” by Michael Giacchino, “Butterflies and Hurricanes” by Muse, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” by Judy Garland and “Joyride” by Michael Markowski. These songs deeply captured the heartfelt story band director David Wiebers and assistant band director Scott Pannell hoped to retell through colorful expressions and bright musical features.
Laid out on the field, colorful tarps spread out from side to side to capture the essence of a painting full of dots. Blue, red, yellow, purple and the center-staged orange and red dots added color and vibrance in contrast to the green football field, elevating the visual effects of the show. In the vast background of the field, white circular three-dimensional props stand up; which later become turned around by color guard members to reveal the rainbow of colors for the closing hit. These colorful, yet somewhat subtle props, added dimension to the field while also exhibiting how detail-oriented the band directors became to create the utmost joyous show.
Moving through the show, magnet junior soloist Idong Okpok danced around band members in act one as the rifle line twirled their weapons surrounding the center-staged dot. Throughout the show, voice soloists including magnet senior Leika Badstibner and junior Jackson McMellen playfully read off lines from the book to add voiceover elements to the childish theme.
Right before the start of act three, color guard members took this time to reveal a costume change intricately woven into the show. Each member’s costume displayed a different color underneath the white flowy-like pants and white sequined gloves to hide the color at the beginning of the show. This costume change revealed the bright colors hidden underneath to showcase the evolution of color as the show went on. During act three, senior soloist Henry Witschy graced the audience with a beautiful French horn solo while the color guard sabre line added to the moment with advanced tricks and tosses. Additionally, sophomore soloist Leondria Henderson leaped around Witschy during the ending remarks of the act. Closing out the show, the full-color guard entered the field after an exchange in equipment for the final flag feature. This feature brought the last bang as members of jazz ran across the field to hit their last sets for the final flag toss. During this high-energy phrase, the band finished out the show hitting sets on the field spelling out the fundamental theme: “Make Your Mark.”
As the marching band began their warm-up at 6:15 p.m. in preparation for their competitive performance only 45 minutes later, the members warmed up their instruments as the color guard loosened up and rehearsed their choreography.
As 7 p.m. came around, nerves and excitement rolled through the marching band members and the directors as they entered into competition. Nearly 10 quick minutes passed and NCMB had reached the end of their performance. Now, students, parents and directors anxiously awaited the scores for the night as the leadership team walked onto the field to receive their possible awards.
For the 39th Southern Invitational Marching Championships, NCMB received a total of seven accolades for their excellent performance. For the open class division — which NCMB takes part in due to the grander size of the band — the awards received included: color guard champion, music performance champion, marching performance champion, general effect champion, outstanding auxiliary, first place open class band and finally, grand champion for the entirety of the competition. NCMB’s score for the night totaled up to 90.1, the highest amongst all other bands. These outstanding marks for NCMB left members in awe of the long working hours and dedication put into creating the program’s exquisite masterpiece.
“Winning grand champion was an insane feeling. When the marching band rushed onto the field, it was all smiles, cheering and excitement. That was one of the best feelings in the world. Our winning grand champion only motivates me to get better on this week of rehearsal before our last competition. I want to hold on to that excitement, that energy and push myself along with other people to keep improving and pushing ourselves so when this season ends, we can truly say that we did our absolute best,” Kant said.
Saturday’s competition brought about a new mindset across all band students as the final weeks of NCMB’s season come to a close. Eagerly awaiting its next, and final competition, Saturday, October 26 at Buford High School, the students continue to rehearse to reach their newly set goals for the remainder of the season. The Chant wishes NCMB luck as they conclude their competitive season, October 26, and an ultimate farewell to “Make Your Mark.”
