By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
A new year brings new challenges for many, but for Del Rio High’s Mighty Ram Band, the new year means another chance to show why the band has become the pride for many in this community.
The band finished fourth overall at the Bands of America South Texas Regional competition in McAllen Saturday, earning several accolades along the way. Aside from placing first in the Class AAA Division, for schools with an enrollment of 1,326 to 1,850 10th to 12th graders, Del Rio also earned first place in its division for musical performance, visual effects and general effects. Port Isabel, which competed in the Class A division, was the only other school to sweep all three categories in their respective division.
Saturday the band traveled to McAllen to compete in Bands of America. It was part of a busy weekend for the ensemble as they supported the Del Rio High Rams football team and performed at halftime of Friday night’s game against East Central before being dismissed at halftime due to needing rest before the long journey to McAllen early the next morning.
Del Rio’s first performance came at 12:15 p.m. Under the direction of band director Aldo Morales, and led on the field by drum majors Jocelyne Villa, Marion Moynihan and Emmanuel Luevano, the group went into its performance that featured a variety of science fiction elements and included musical selections from The X-Files Theme, Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, New World Symphony by Antonin Dvorjak, Symphony No. 2, Op. 30 by Howard Hanson, Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Peter Graham, and ContaXt by Carol Brittin Chambers.
A group of eight judges located at different vantage points judged the band on its value on music, musical performance, and visual and general effects. Sixty percent of the score was based on the value on music and on general effect while 40 percent was based on visual performance and the performance as a whole.
Del Rio qualified for the finals but didn’t get to take the field again until 7:30 p.m. The finals ended at 10:30 p.m., and awards were presented 15 minutes later. John B. Alexander High School from Laredo earned first place overall in the regional championship, sweeping the three awards for Outstanding Music Performance, Outstanding Visual Performance and Outstanding General Effect.
The band returned to Del Rio Sunday evening, greeted by a cavalcade of parents, fans and supporters that lined US Highway 277 and Veterans Boulevard and joined them on their final journey to Del Rio High School.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
