The Baldwin Highlander Marching Band placed second at its competition at Gateway High School on Saturday.
They scored a total of 82.300 points, falling only one point behind Mars, which earned 83.975 points. Upper St. Clair placed third with a score of 81.925.
Senior Matthew Colwell is happy with how the band has progressed. Since football season, the band “has improved in terms of music and teamwork,” he said.
At Gateway, the band scored eight points higher than its last competition at Norwin, where it scored 76.875.
Colwell cites getting better at “playing as one ensemble rather than a bunch of musicians” for the improvement.
However, for piano soloist Lucas Cormier, the day wasn’t without its technical difficulties. The band had issues with getting power to the keyboards through the first movement, but “there was this one really big piano part we were able to get (the power) up for,” he said.
The band is competing with its show “How Wonderful Life Is.”
“This is one of the hardest shows I’ve had to play, musically,” Colwell said. “There’s a lot of notes to memorize.”
Their next competition is Oct. 21 at Mount Lebanon High School.
