The Marching Tigers theme this season was Hells Bells which was a beautiful mash-up of rock and classical music. The show included music from AC/DC, Metallica, Van Halen, and Dragon Force. But it also paid homage to darker, edgier classical works from Mozart, Verdi, Schubert, and Chopin.
The director of bands, Austin Bralley, sent this season re-cap email sent to all band parents the day after state finals. (Check out the video of the final performance at the bottom of this post)
I wanted to take a moment to share the accomplishments of the Marching Tigers at yesterday's state competition and celebrate what has truly been a remarkable season.
The Marching Tigers earned first place in the state semifinals, winning 4 out of 6 judges, including awards for Best Visual and Best Overall Effect. This performance had amazing energy especially considering the 9:45am performance time. This is the 6th consecutive year that Beechwood has earned first place in the state semifinals competition.
In the state finals at UofL, the band delivered their best performance of the season. While this set of judges ultimately favored another band, Beechwood did win 2 out of 6 judges and earned the award for Outstanding Visual Performance for the 5th consecutive year.
Estill County has a fantastic band, and it was essentially a coin flip for the state championship again this year with neither band finishing more than a few tenths above the other in the three head-to-head competitions. Unfortunately, for the 2nd year in a row two of the top five bands in the entire state just happen to be in class 2A.
This season has been truly historic for the Marching Tigers. Beechwood was the only band in the country this season to beat Lafayette High School and were undefeated in class 2A competition during the regular season for the 7th consecutive year. The band achieved their 26th appearance in the state finals and their 19th consecutive appearance—the second-longest streak in the state, behind only Lafayette. What makes this accomplishment even more impressive is that this year’s Marching Tigers were both the smallest and youngest band at Beechwood since at least 2009, making their success all the more exciting for the future of the program. Next year, if my projections are correct, the band should be back over 80 members and likely competing class 3A again.
We are incredibly proud of the Marching Tigers and the tremendous effort they put into every rehearsal and performance. Thank you, parents, for your unwavering support throughout this season. Your encouragement has made a world of difference, and we couldn’t have reached these heights without you. -