By Ezra Caber & Stephanie Tran

The Granada Hills Charter (GHC) Marching Band and Color Guard competed at SoFi Stadium on October 23, bringing home first place in their division with a score of 75.5 at the Western Band Association (WBA) competition. The band was also presented with four additional awards including best percussion, best Color Guard, best visuals, and best overall effects.

GHC’s marching band competed against three other high schools in their 3A division: La Cañada High School, Ramona High School, and Nogales High School. 24 total high schools competed at SoFi Stadium.

This was the first-ever marching band event held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. SoFi is home to the Los Angeles Rams, making this a unique opportunity for high school marching bands who are more accustomed to performing on high school football fields.

GHC’s Marching Band and Color Guard completed a performance on the theme of coronation. In the background behind their performance, they had banners of castles, a lifesize red throne, as well as color guard flags and tiaras.

Both the Marching Band and Color Guard undergo rigorous practice to be ready for both games and competitions throughout the state.

There are multiple different sections of the band including the front ensemble, battery, drumline, and others. They have practices from zero to first period, along with specific practices for different sections after school.

After school on Wednesdays, the whole band assembles for practice for three hours. They have sectional rehearsals from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. If there is additional time, then the entire band practices further on the football field, sometimes until 8:00 p.m.

“For our competition, to put out our best work, we practice for five months to perform for seven to eight minutes,” senior and head drum major James Zheng said.

Most students enjoy the ambiance the marching band and color guard bring to football games but are not aware of the grueling and intensive practices that allow them to be so talented. The performance of a few minutes comes after hours of practice. It takes a lot of dedication and commitment to get the perfect performance for the competition.

Color Guard also takes part in competitions. They are a performance art that combines elements of dance, choreography, and the use of various equipment including flags, mock rifles, and sabers. They add beautiful visuals to the overall performance aesthetic.

“The commitment is the most challenging part of color guard,” junior and Color Guard captain Darlyn Tenorio said.

Similar to Band, Color Guard, and Drumline commit to hard work when it comes to the many practices leading up to competition, as well as competing in different leagues throughout California. Although Color Guard competes with the band in the fall, they have their own separate competitions in the spring.

Competition days themselves also take extra time and work as the group must load all the instruments in and out of the loading truck, prepare their instruments and props, and then warm up their instruments. It takes hours of preparation before the actual performance and awards are presented after all high schools have performed.

As the Marching Band takes victory at the WBA competition at SoFi stadium, things look bright for the upcoming competitions in the field season.

“This year will see us move in a new direction since the students are very motivated and hardworking,” Band director Joseph Cooper said. “We’ve created a really great vehicle for these students to thrive in competition.