Vista Murrieta Marching Band Scores Big at Utah Competition

The following is a news release submitted by the Vista Murrieta High School Golden Alliance Booster Club:

Competing against some of the top high school marching bands in the country, the Vista Murrieta Golden Alliance finished third at a Bands of America regional competition in St. George, Utah, on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Vista Murrieta scored 85.35 in the finals, a dramatic jump from the 75.75 the marching band and color guard earned for 12th place at the same event in 2011.

“Our score reflected all of the hard work that students, staff and parents have put in over the last 10 years to get to this point,” said Brent Levine, assistant band director. “In the band world, it’s very rare for a school to improve their average score by 10 points over two years, and our students were able to accomplish that. It’s a special group of performers to be sure.”

American Fork High School in Utah won the competition with 88.85 after the band claimed all three caption awards (music and visual performance and general effect); Clovis West High School from Fresno finished second with 85.70.

Vista Murrieta’s score was a high water mark for the school at a Bands of America event. The previous best was 83.60 in 2008.

Saturday’s competition at Dixie State University featured 27 bands from six states. With 228 musicians, the Vista Murrieta Golden Alliance was one of the largest units on the field. Safely getting that many students to and from Utah was a logistical challenge that included five charter busses to transport students, three trucks pulling trailers filled with instruments and equipment, and more than two dozen parent volunteers.

A lot of people took note of the effort, according to Levine.

“Our students and parents received a ton of compliments about how we carried ourselves with class throughout the trip,” he said. “Hotel staff, parents from other groups, bus drivers and band directors from different schools were all impressed with our organization’s commitment to excellence on and off the field.”

Next up for the Golden Alliance is a Marching Band Open Series competition on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Chino Hills High School. The GA is the three-time defending champion of the event, which is considered to be the Southern California championship since it features many of the top marching bands in the region. This year’s lineup includes bands from Chino Hills, El Diamante, Hart and Thousand Oaks high schools.

On Nov. 23, the Golden Alliance will be at the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association championships at Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, competing against several top bands including Chino, Etiwanta and Los Osos high schools along with others from the San Diego area. Bands are selected based on an average of their scores throughout the season within the SCSBOA organization.

“Most schools pick one of the two championships, but we’ve decided to challenge ourselves and compete against as many different high-quality bands as possible,” Levine said.

Outside of the competitions, the Golden Alliance will appear in the Veterans Day Parade through downtown Murrieta on Monday, Nov. 11, and also at Disneyland on Dec. 7.