>> BALDWIN HIGH SCHOOL
Baldwin High School hosted its annual Oconee Classic Marching Band contest Sept. 30 on the football field.
This year marked the 12th anniversary of the competition and Director of Bands James McMillan’s seventh year organizing the event. With 2,500 student performers and 20 bands from across the state participating, McMillan stated this was the highest participation the contest has ever received.
“This was our first year having to close registration because we were at max capacity,” said McMillan. “I believe that is a testament to the reputation we have built and our growth overtime.”
The competition began small with participants from the Central Georgia area and slowly expanded with more participants from around the state. As one of the first marching band contests held during competition season, McMillan stated he was proud to see how many people chose to travel and take-part in the event to begin their annual competition season.
“This began as a fundraising event and a home point so that marching bands in our area would not have to travel as far to compete. From those beginnings it's evolved into something larger and now takes a year's worth of planning to get ready,” said McMillan. “I began planning for next year’s competition the day after this year’s event was over.” Bands compete in multiple categories, including band, color guard, drum major, and percussion, categorized into one of five major classes: A, AA, AAA, AAAA, and AAAAA.
The band programs were assessed in a captionstyle contest across three major categories: music performance, visual performance, and music/ visual effect.
“There are nine judges total, six for the band and three for the auxiliary.
While bands perform, they are getting judged on a variety of factors,” said McMillan. “Every little detail is being critiqued and because we are an early contest, we let judges know that our goal for this contest is to allow bands to leave with extensive feedback that will help them throughout the season.”
As the hosting band, the Baldwin Band of the Braves does not compete but rather performs a showcase as the last performance of the night. They perform for the largest crowd of the day before awards are given. This year, the band performed a show titled “Up in Flames.”
“I think we offered a splendid performance and I’m always proud of getting to watch the students perform for such a large audience,” said McMillan. “It wraps up the performances well and gives our students the opportunity to showcase their talents and expertise.”
Baldwin High School Principal Jason Flanders gave trophies to the winning bands. Lowndes High School was named the Grand Champion Band, Carrolton High School was the first runner-up and Perry High School was the second runner-up.
Trophies were also awarded for each classification, within each class, and for bands that earned a superior or excellent rating.
“The Oconee Classic Marching Band went very smoothly this year. I think we have one of the most well-organized marching contests in the state,” said McMillan. “The fact that 20 bands chose our contests over others shows that we have a very well-oiled machine. Moving forward, we hope to continue to improve and build one of the best contests in the state.”