Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

York Co. bands are 3A, 4A state champions

Nation Ford, Fort Mill bands finish the year on a high note

FORT MILL -- When Nation Ford High School opened in 2007, pulling most of its students from nearby Fort Mill High, both schools had to launch new marching band programs. Some wondered whether either could carry on Fort Mill High's legacy of championships.

That's no longer a question.

On Saturday, both schools took on bands from across the state and were crowned state champions in their divisions — Fort Mill High in Class AAAA; Nation Ford in Class AAA.

“It's a huge deal,” said Taylor Rouse, 16, a Nation Ford High junior and drum major.

The wins cap stellar years for both bands and continue a string of successes for York County's high school marching bands, which consistently rank among the state's best. This year marks the third straight that a York County band took the Class AAAA championship. Northwestern High in Rock Hill won last year, and Clover High the year before.

This year, York County bands placed in the top four Class AAA and Class AAAA winners. Rock Hill High School's band will compete in the Class AAAAA state competition on Saturday.

South Carolina is known as a “band-friendly” state. As with football, the state encourages competition between marching bands and it crowns state champions every year.

The competition is high level, and the training rigorous. Students give up evenings, weekends and part of their summer to practice. During the school year, they travel to competitions and performances.

The key, students said, is to learn to manage time.

“School and band. That's it,” said Ahmez Nash, 17, a Fort Mill High senior drum major. “It's your grades and your art.”

“It's just awesome to be part of something so big,” said Fort Mill High senior Alexis Melaine, 17. “Nowhere else in school … no other club, no team, you're not going to make these friends that you're going to keep.”

On Monday, Fort Mill High's band enjoyed a rare day of down time. Students, wearing their championship medals, gathered in the band room to watch video of their Saturday performance.

“They win state; we give them their lives back,” band director John Pruitt joked.

A shelf running along all four walls in the school's band room is crammed with hundreds of trophies and awards won over the years. Plaques and banners hang below.

Students sat in the center of the room watching footage of their show, titled “Beyond the Great Wall: Celebrating 5,000 years of Chinese culture.” The band played and marched to a collection of classical Chinese music plus portions of the film scores for “The Last Emperor” and “The Mummy 3.” Members of the color guard, dressed as terracotta warriors, acted out the music.

The performance was elaborate and wowed judges, who gave the band a score of 93.8, more than three percentage points ahead of second-place Northwestern.

“We try to put together very sophisticated shows,” said Philip Rainer, the school's color guard director since 1996. “This year feels like one of the best years since I've been here. The kids were on it all year long and there was growth.”

Nation Ford High's band doesn't have time to celebrate.

All week, the band is hitting the field to practice for a run at the national championship title Nov. 12 in Indianapolis. The band will take on 89 others from across the country. Band director Martin Dickey said the band is shooting for the top 30.

On Monday the band was tweaking its show, titled “Fast Track,” which won the state title. It's a piece of original music written for the band in which members, working in synch and disguised with props and costumes, form a human train.

During practice, several students still were beaming from Saturday.

“It's incredible that both bands won,” said Nation Ford High senior and drum major Jaclyn Turner, 18.

Performing makes it all worth it, Rouse said. “Whenever you're done performing in a stadium and all the people stand up, you can't explain it,” Rouse said.

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