Not only have the Golden Hawks Marching Band of Hazelwood Central High School been busy performing at football games, but they’ve also been working hard to win awards at competitions.
Under the direction of Mark Thomas, since the start of the school year, the Golden Hawks have earned awards at the Wright City Invitational Marching Band Festival and the Bi-State Marching Band Festival.
At the Wright City event, Thomas said the band received recognition in parade and field competition. In parade competition, they were presented the following: Outstanding Drum Major, Outstanding Drum Line, Outstanding Color Guard, Outstanding Visual and First Place Overall in Parade. In field competition, they earned Outstanding Drum Major, Outstanding Drum Line, Outstanding Visual, Outstanding Color Guard, Second Place Overall in the Field Show, and Grand Champion in Regardless of Class category. In total, the band earned 11 honors.
In parade competition at the Bi-State event, the band won Outstanding Drum Major, Outstanding Color Guard, Outstanding Percussion, Outstanding Visual and First Overall in the Regardless of Class category. In the field show, the band placed sixth, but their score was high enough to compete in the finals. The band finished ninth out of 17 in the finals.
Thomas said the top six bands at the Bi-State event had student counts of 180 to 250.
“We are very, very proud of how our students handled the pressure of performing with bands that are much larger than we are. Once again, our 67 students did an exceptional job,” he said.
To keep the students motivated, Thomas said that he and his colleagues tell the students they are “only as good as your last performance.”
“We constantly challenge them as individuals and as sections to improve performance. We make subtle changes in the formations, and sometimes in the music to keep the songs fresh so that the show we perform at the beginning of the season is nowhere as good as the performance at the end of the marching season,” explained Thomas.
The Golden Hawks compete in four parades and/or festivals each year, based on the football schedule and the availability of weekend competitions. The contests are by invitation and the school has to submit an application to compete. The size of the band or the school can determine acceptance to a competition.