The Hopewell Valley Central High School (HVCHS) marching band, the Marching Black and Gold, took third place honors at the USBands New Jersey State Marching Band Championships on Saturday, Oct. 18.
The event took place at the Rutgers High Point Solutions Stadium, where nineteen Class III-A New Jersey bands competed. In addition to being a top competitor, the band left with two prestigious awards, Best Percussion and Best Color Guard.
The band’s performance for the 2014 season is titled “Rise of the Machine” and depicts the interplay between the natural and mechanical worlds. As a Class III-A band, the Marching Black and Gold is comprised of 51 musicians, 17 color guard members and two drum majors.
The Marching Black and Gold is in its eighth year of competitive performance. Band practices begin the summer before the performance season and continue after school and on weekends in preparation for both competitions and performances at football games. The band will compete again at the USBands Yamaha Cup at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Nov. 1. Last year, the band placed seventh in its class at the MetLife competition, and the color guard took the best-in-class award.
The Marching Black and Gold is under the direction of HVCHS band director David Schwartzer, assisted by Jeff Parkinson. Color guard instructor is Jen Huereca, and percussion is directed by Scott Daley and Audrey Griffin. USBands is the sanctioning body for high school marching band competitions and is a program of the nonprofit organization Youth Education in the Arts.
