Stamford High Black Knights Marching Band

Check out the photos of a recent dress rehearsal of this year’s winter guard program entitled “Habibi”- (My darling in Arabic).

The season started off with an evaluation show in Bethel, CT. on January 13th. It was a rare opportunity for the staff to talk to and receive immediate feedback from the judges while the students performed their show. With the feedback in hand, it was back to rehearsals to incorporate the suggestions made by the judges and then it was off to officially start the season at Brien McMahon High School on January 20th. Stamford High competes in the Scholastic AA division and we took 3rd place at Brien McMahon that week.

Each week, the staff makes improvements to the overall show design and concept while the students improve their technical skills and performance abilities. We took a week off to further enhance the show and at the Brookfield competition on February 3rd, our overall score improved by 6 points and we were well on our way to move up in the standings! This was also the first week that our new props and costumes were on display and we received many compliments from other guard units, parents and staff on how beautiful they truly are! The credit goes to our band parent organization and very special thanks go out to Greta Schneider and Rob & Nancy Fortin for designing, building and sewing them for us!

The following week, we competed yet again at Masuk High School. Our score continues to move up. At the weekly judge’s meeting, we receive feedback from the judges on areas where we could still make improvements. Each rehearsal is another opportunity for the staff to make changes to enhance our show and the students work very hard to achieve that level of excellence.

This past Saturday, we competed in New Milford, Ct. and watched our score go up another 4 points. It’s nice to see the judges reward the students for the improvements that they make each and every week. This week during winter break from school, we will continue to rehearse and improve the show and hope to move up in the standings when we head to Shelton, Ct. on March 3rd. Our winter Percussion unit will also be out for their first competition of the season in Shelton as well, so come out and show support for these wonderful winter programs and see how truly talented the students really are!

Check back often for more recaps and photos, as there are only 5 more weeks until the Championships in Trumbull, Ct.!