The South City High Warrior band program took home a first-place trophy and two-second place trophies at the Feste Del Mar band review in San Jose on October 7, 2023.
Squaring off against Saint Francis High from Mountain View in the 2A division, the Warriors utilized music from composer Anton Alcalde in a performance entitled “The Winds of Change” and placed first in the field show category with a score of 75.01 to Saint Francis High’s 68.88.
Meanwhile, the competition for best color guard was stiff, as the Warriors faced off against 10 other schools, including Saint Francis High; American High from Fremont; Branham, Del Mar, Leigh, Prospect, and Westmont High from Campbell Union High School District; Clayton Valley Charter High from Concord; Oak Ridge High from El Dorado Hills; and Woodside High.
In fact, the top three color guards were separated by a mere 2.5 points.
Branham High took first with 76.5, South City came in second with 74.9, and Leigh High placed third with a score of 74.
The field conductor portion of the competition was equally fierce.
Among a field of 11 competing schools, Warrior Drum Major Carter Lau (‘24) and Assistant Drum Major Kaitlyn Le (‘25) placed second, coming within a point of first-place Branham High, which scored 76.1.
The Warrior drum majors scored 75, while American High School came in third with a score 69.6.
The field show category requires putting on a 15-minute football “half-time show” involving the marching band, color guard, percussion pit, and field props.
Field performances are typically more difficult than parade performances, because band members must march in different formations, while playing three to four songs from memory.
Bands are evaluated on their marching and maneuvering, music, showmanship, uniforms, and the performance of the drum major, drill team members, majorettes or baton twirlers, and auxiliary units like the color guard.
In the parade competition, bands walk in a straight line up a “parade block” that is one-third of a mile long.
South City High's marching band and color guard are members of the Northern California Band Association.
Band reviews and competitions normally take place in the fall, but the Warrior marching band may also perform at various community events throughout the year.