A Rhapsody concert, MPA, marching season, a big trip to Washington D.C.- with the first semester coming to an end, it has been a busy season for band.

The band kicked off the year at summer camp to prepare their halftime marching show Fantastic Beasts in order to perform for halftime during football games, as well as perform the show at the Seminole County Marching Festival. In addition, the band competed at MPA in October, which is their biggest competition performance. MPA takes place in front of judges, and the band receives a rating for their marching show. Between the band and color guard, they took home straight superiors, the highest rating possible.

“It’s been a great season so far,” senior Bijan Teimouri said.

Band also takes part in All-County and All-State individual competitions. These two events are honor bands that students can audition for every year. While All-County is available for students in Seminole County, All-State is available for all band students across Florida, making it much more difficult to get in.

“I made both all-county and all-state and am very proud to say that I am first chair in both,” senior Molly Kaplan said.

Band teaches and strengthens students’ music skills. Nonetheless, band can teach an individual about determination, time management, organization and how to make new friends.

“[Band] introduced me to so many people that I call some of my best friends,” senior Lindsay Lee said.

Despite all of the other activities going on, the band put on a winter concert too. They performed their annual Rhapsody in Blue concert on Friday, Dec. 1,which featured all of the band sections, as well as the two jazz bands, symphonic band, and wind ensemble. In order to prepare, they had rehearsal every day after school for a week to run through the entire concert, and were expected to practice on their own at home.

Kaplan, senior Julia Kemper and junior Abi Duncan are drum majors this year, and have led them through each event.

“We spend a lot of time memorizing music and perfecting it and matching each other,” Kemper said.

Adding to their hectic schedule, the group recently took a trip to Washington D.C. during Thanksgiving break to perform in the Montgomery Thanksgiving Parade. They took a charter bus, and although a 12-hour bus ride sounds miserable to some, sophomore Morgan Muse enjoyed the ride.

“The bus ride was pretty fun considering the fact that we were with our friends,” sophomore Morgan Muse said.

While waiting to perform, the band spent an extra few days touring the city’s historical sites. Many used this trip as their vacation.

“I didn’t go on the last band trip to Ireland, so I wanted to travel somewhere with the band before I graduated,” Kaplan said.

Some popular sites they toured in D.C. include the Smithsonian Museum, the Kennedy Center and the Holocaust Memorial. They also attended a concert performed by the National Symphony Orchestra, where senior Lindsay Lee especially enjoyed the concert because it was a-once-in-a-lifetime experience that she could share with other music appreciators.

“The concert left me speechless,” Lee said.

The band made their trip very memorable by visiting the historic sites, but the tour guide sticks out as well.

“He was incredibly funny and knew how to get the rest of the band really excited,” senior Lydia Kiernicki said.

They are back from their trip now and although many events are over, the band is going full force into concert season, making time management crucial.

“Managing band isn’t too bad as long as you don’t procrastinate,” Muse said.

Gallery | 5 Photos

photo by Molly Kaplan

This is an outside view of the Lincoln Memorial. It was built in 1922.