After months of preparation, Santa Fe’s band set off to Flagstaff, AZ to participate in the Bands of America (BOA) competition for the first time ever. The band came in first place after their performances on Oct. 5.
Leading up to this school year, the directors had to make the decision on whether or not they wanted to actually participate in BOA.
“We had been planning to dive into the world of BOA for about three years,” head director Dane Romano said. “As a staff we wanted to make sure we could replicate competitive success multiple years in a row in Oklahoma before we branched out.”
Directors were also tasked with deciding a location. BOA takes place in many different cities and states around the country, but the Santa Fe directors went with the Flagstaff competition.
“We picked Arizona because there was the opportunity to see the Grand Canyon, and this regional was a bit smaller which gave the students a better chance of not only making finals, but placing high,” Romano said.
The decision was made final following the 2023 marching season and the trip was planned soon after.
“We just decided and then began trip planning last March,” Romano said.
On the way to Flagstaff, they stopped at the Grand Canyon. This was many students’ first time getting to see the canyon.
“It was amazing. At first, I thought it would be boring but when I finally saw it in person, it looked unreal,” senior and color guard member Meah Golson said. “Going on this trip let me experience unreal things and new places with the people I’m closest to.”
On the day of the competition, members of the band arrived at Northern Arizona University at 12:55 p.m. This was the time for them to prepare for the prelims, which were at 2:30 p.m. Prelims are a crucial part of the competition; if a band does poorly during prelims, they may not get the chance to redeem themselves later on.
“Prelims can be very nerve-racking because it is the first time we perform in that setting, on that day,” senior and drum major Kayla Barnes said. “Prelims allow the band to set the precedent for how they will perform and operate that day. It also decides if we are in the top six or bottom six in prelims.”
The placement following prelims determines which time a band will perform.
“An early performance time can be nice because we don’t have the pre-performance jitters for as long,” Kayla said. “For BOA, we performed pretty late for both prelims and finals.”
After placing first in the prelims, the band performed once more at 9:30. Santa Fe’s final awards include BOA Regional Grand Champions, Best General Effect, Best Visual Performance and Best Music Performance. This makes Santa Fe the first band from central Oklahoma to ever become Regional Grand Champions.
Upon hearing the news, many different organizations from Santa Fe showed up to welcome the band home. The band arrived back at the school at 6 p.m. where they were greeted by friends, family, clubs, teachers and even News 9.
