High school marching band and color guard earn medal at state championship

The Mission Hills High School’s Cardinal Alliance Marching Band and Colorguard took home a bronze medal competing in the California State Band Championship – State Level on Dec. 6 at Colony High School in Ontario. It was the team’s first year competing in a full season with the California State Band Championship and the first time advancing to their state championships.

The team of 186 high school students from freshmen to seniors earned a score of 95.55 with their performance of “The Avant Garden,” featuring music from The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. Mission Hills came in among the top three competing against 15 schools from across California  that advanced from a California State Band Championship circuit of over 200 participating schools.

Out of the 66 bands that competed in prelims, Mission HIlls was selected to perform as one of 16 bands to advance to the state level.

The bands are judged on the quality of their performance in music, marching and visuals, general effect, percussion and color guard. A point system is used where each judge evaluates criteria such as quality, accuracy and design effectiveness, with an eye on ensemble achievement and overall show impact. There are score sheets for each area and penalties for rule violations like time limits.

The band is led by its three directors, Christopher Coughlin, Ellis King and Josh Hall.