Freshmen Perspectives

SHHS band freshmen Emma Sarkissian, Marissa Davi and Fatima Alcantara.

I sat down to chat with three SHHS freshmen band members, Emma Sarkissian, Fatima Alcantara and Marissa Davi about their experiences during their first season with the band. All three of them had previous music experience in middle school prior to coming to SHHS, but only one of them, Marissa Davi, had previous marching experience.

Below are some clips from our conversation:

JC (me): Coming into South Hills Hills School, what were your expectations about band?

Emma S.: I was expecting marching to be hard because I didn't have any experience [marching] before, and I had a small idea of what to expect since I've seen South Hills perform before. But I didn't know it was going to be as hard as it turned out to be. I mean, it was really, really hard.
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JC: What was your favorite moment from the season?

Marissa D.: My favorite moment had to be Championships. Since my brother and sister were in band before me, I knew their history and I really wanted to beat Hart for them. They had a lot of passion when they were students here, and I wanted to have that same kind of passion when I got here. I was happy we beat Hart because of so many years of losing to them... I'm really competitive like my brother so it was sweet when we won.
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JC: What are you most excited about for next season?

Fatima A.: I'm most excited about seeing the band improve, or seeing if we can improve. We'll be losing a lot of good seniors, so I hope the new freshmen who come next year will be just as dedicated as we were this year. And I also want to improve my music skills next year, too.

SCSBOA Championships Recap

Members of South Hills' band posing with their gold medals and the 1st place championship plaque.

 
On Dec. 3 South Hills High School's marching band and colorguard performed in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) field marching championship tournament held at Warren High School in Downey, CA. Every year the top groups in each division compete for top honors at the end of the season. South Hills was one of the top 12 groups in the class 4A division to make it to the final tournament based on the average of their top three scores from their 2011 season's tournament field competitions.

South Hills has early success

But for Director Mike Wooten, praise needs to be earned.

     At the Patriot High School Show on Oct. 1, South Hills took home the High General Effect award, beating larger groups Chino High School and Rowland High School who are both 6A class bands. Two weeks later on Oct. 15 at the Rowland High School Show, South Hills High School’s marching band performed better than all other bands at the entire show, regardless of class size.

     South Hills High School’s Marching Band and Colorguard has achieved early success this season. While most high school groups across the region are still learning music and drill, South Hills has raised their level of expectations for themselves, and it shows. Through the first two field tournament competitions this season, South Hills has outperformed larger groups who are usually the bands that take home the biggest awards at any given show.

Second Show Week, 10/10-10/15

South Hills High School performed at the Rowland High School Show on Oct. 15. South Hills won the High Music, High General Effect, and Sweepstakes Band awards. Sweepstakes Band means that South Hills' band performed better than all other bands at the show, regardless of class size. Arcadia High School, a 6A group, won the Sweepstakes Auxiliary (colorguard) and Sweepstakes Percussion awards.

First Show Week, 9/26-10/1

South Hills High School's Band and Colorguard rehearsed on Monday night, Sept. 26, to prepare for the fast-approaching Patriot High School Show, their first field show tournament of the season, on Saturday, Oct. 1.

South Hills High School's Band and Colorguard performed at the Patriot Show and won the High General Effect award, beating larger groups Chino High School and Rowland High School.

Larger groups generally have a better chance of winning an award such as High General Effect because more musicians often means greater dynamic contrast within the music; and more performers occasionally means groups are able to do more intricate field drill for marching. South Hills must have done something unique to impress the judges and stand out from the other groups that performed at the Patriot Show.