WMHS hosts NESBA competition this Saturday
WAKEFIELD — Looking at the forecast, members of the Wakefield Memorial High School Warrior Marching Band are hoping they’ll be the only ones going “Into the Storm” when they host a New England Scholastic Band Association (NESBA) competition this Saturday and perform their weather-themed show.
The Warriors’ show includes four songs: No Rain with a trumpet solo from Caroline Dill and a baritone solo from Lauren Fitzgerald; Orange Colored Sky with vocalists Nadia Collins and Morgan Wallace; Stormworks with a saxophone solo from Sebastian Price and a mellophone solo from Kimber Rudy; and House of the Rising Sun featuring a trombone trio of Declan Blair, Kristof Lock Zanzotto and Lauren Fitzgerald.
“The multitude of styles in this show makes it very unique. None of the songs are similar, but they all work together with the visuals on the field to walk the audience through a thunderstorm,” says drum major Lauren Mangarelli. “Another awesome thing about this show is all of the special moments that highlight individuals or groups in the band and let talents shine through.”
“NESBA Wakefield is a great way to see bands from all over Massachusetts and New Hampshire,” says Director of Visual and Performing Arts Thomas Bankert, who directs the band. “There will be 21 bands, including the fantastic marching band from UMass Lowell.”
The first band will perform at 2 p.m. and Wakefield will be the last school to compete at 7:15 p.m. The event will include plenty of delicious concessions with all proceeds going directly to benefit the music programs in Wakefield schools.
“Our home shows are always extra special because we get to see so many people coming together to support the hard work of all these bands in our home stadium,” says Mangarelli. “Volunteers and spectators make the day very memorable and I’m really excited for it this year.”
The Warriors are coming off a first place finish at North Andover High School on Saturday, having swept the high caption awards for Division V. The band will also perform this Sunday at a Massachusetts Instrumental Choral and Conductors Association (MICCA) competition at Norwell High School.
The following weekend, the students head to Rutgers University to compete against high schools from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia and Massachusetts at the Bands of America New Jersey Regional Championship.
For updates on this weekend’s competition and other upcoming events, visit the Wakefield Music Boosters Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Wakefieldmusicboosters. Any weather-related changes will be announced there.