Finding their ODDity: The Story of Marcus High School’s 2017 Grand Nationals
The Bands of America Grand National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana is one of the most prestigious and largest marching band contests in the entire country. After going in 2009 and 2013, the Marcus High School Marching Band from Flower Mound, Texas made their third trip to the midwest to compete against 99 other bands.
The last two times Marcus made the trip to Indianapolis, they placed fourth with their show entitled “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2009, and then fifth in 2013 with “Charmed”, a story about snakes.
The 250+ piece band from Flower Mound traveled to Indiana with their program entitled “prODDigy”. The show was the story of being different. Throughout the beginning of their show, the band has different groups show how “odd” they are and do quirky and “out there” movements. They then transition to a “showcase” phase, where they show the skills they possess and then to a feeling of being ostracized because of being different. Finally, they realize that being different is a good thing and society embraces the diversity and accepts them for what they are.
Marcus performed in the Thursday preliminary round, scoring well enough on their day to advance them to Saturday’s semi-final round, where they had a strong enough run in that round to make it into the Finals. The five-time UIL Texas state marching band champions placed fourth in the nightcap with a score of 95.700. However, the placement doesn’t matter as much to both the students and director of bands at the school, Amanda Drinkwater.
“Just to play the program as many times as you’re capable of, that’s what we talk about,” said Drinkwater.
Along with the experience of getting all three performances in, it is a valuable thing to go and see what other programs are doing, believes the director of twelve years at the school.
“It’s really healthy for our program, our parents, as well as our students, to see that band programs are thriving elsewhere,” said Drinkwater.
With so many other powerful programs in the state, and even within their own district, it is important for the band to experience the other cultures around the band world, Drinkwater believes.
Within the state of Texas, schools are limited to the ever-infamous “eight hour rule” implemented by the University Interscholastic League, or UIL. This rule means that any extracurricular activity can only practice a maximum of eight hours during the week, with one extra hour on days they have a contest or performance.
Outside of Texas however, the eight hour rule does not apply, therefore giving the other schools in the country that attend Grand Nationals limitless time to put more content and activity into their show. Seeing those performances and the programs other schools put out onto the performance field is key to the experience that Drinkwater explains about other cultures.
Before anything as far as planning begins, the directorship puts the idea up for a vote among the parents extremely far in advance so that they can decide if they can financially go on a trip of that magnitude. This happens the year before when they know that the rotation year for Grand Nationals is upon them. So in 2016, the parents voted to have the trip planned and the journey began.
Along with Marcus, Flower Mound High School from Lewisville Independent School District, also made the trip to Indianapolis and placed fourth. Also from Texas were Round Rock, placing fourth, The Woodlands, who were seventh, and Prosper and Winston-Churchill who both made semi-finals.
Texas schools regularly place well in Indianapolis, with two from the Lone Star State previously winning the contest. L.D. Bell from Hurst, Texas won in 2007, The Woodlands in 2013, and Westfield, from Houston, in 2003. Other notable finishes from Texas bands, and more specifically, Lewisville ISD, were Hebron from Carrollton who placed 3rd in 2015, and Flower Mound, who placed sixth in 2014.
Among those who make the annual trip to Lucas Oil Stadium are the likes of Avon and Broken Arrow, both three-time winners, Carmel, the 2017 Champion, and dozens of other bands known for their excellence in the marching band discipline.
BELOW: The timeline of the Marcus Band’s trip to Indianapolis for the 2017 Grand National Championships in Indianapolis.
