Monrovia High Marching Band and Color Guard to Vie for Championship

The Monrovia High School football team aren't the only Wildcats chasing a championship.

The campus' marching band and color guard is also in the running for a trophy, as it culminates its season Saturday at the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association's Field Championships at Ramona High School in Riverside.

The band is competing in Division 2A, which is for schools with 51 to 70 members.  Monrovia has 68.

Daniel Magallanes, band director, said that about 70 bands in the division competed in field shows this season used to qualify them for championships.  About 30 of those were making the push for the title, with judges picking the top 3 or 4 scores of the bands to narrow it down to 12, he said.

This is the second consecutive year the band has qualified for the tournament, entering as the 12 seed last year.

The band is seeded 8th this time around.

"From the start of the season, we had our eyes on qualifying for the championship," he said. 

Band competitions have evolved over the years, becoming much more elaborate and theatrical, Magallanes said.

Monrovia High's show is titled "A Night at the Symphony." The show is eight minutes of music from 16 different composers and features 75 formations. The band and color guard practice every step from one dot to the next because the judges look at every movement, he said.

"They are moving with the grace of a ballerina and the precision of a military marcher," he said.  "Every single kid from the crustiest senior to the greenest freshman have to be able to hit their dots."

Last weekend Monrovia High took its show to Anaheim for the the last tournament to qualify for the championship.  The band, color guard, and drumline all finished first.

The show got the highest score that Monrovia had ever received, which gives the band confidence but won't make them complacent, he said.

"It helps," he said. "But they also know what can be fixed.  They recognize what issues they have or the mistakes they are making in their performance."

Cheryl Gauderman, who serves on the board of the band booster club, was at the competition last week and said Monrovia High made quite an impression on the crowd.

"They came together perfectly and the crowd roared," she said.

Gauderman has two children in the band.  Senior Mark plays the clarinet and freshman Kristin the flute.  Her oldest son Eric played clarinet when he was at Monrovia High and is now a sophomore band member at USC.

The booster club is a very active group, raising funds for shows and music instructors, feeding the band members during competitions, and even shining shoes.

Right now, the group is planning fundraisers  and accepting donations so that the band can perform in the Memorial Day Parade in Washington D.C. next year.  Gauderman said that U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, who represents a portion of Monrovia, nominated the band.

A couple of years ago, the concert band performed at Carnegie Hall, she added.

Gauderman said besides the academic benefits of playing a musical instrument, band offers members discipline and leadership opportunities.

"It's been fantastic for my kids," she said of band.  "My oldest recently said that band changed is life. He was shy, but he got in band and he had a peer group.  He turned into someone who could speak in front of kids."

For more information on Monrovia High School Band fundraiser and how you can donate, visit http://www.monroviamusic.org/MonroviaMusic/Home.html. The band and color guard also has a Facebook page. Donations can also be sent to Monrovia Wildcat Band Booster Club, P.O. Box 1122 Monrovia, CA 91017.