In the crowded bleachers, all that can be heard is music from English rock band, the Beatles and English composer, Gustav Holst, as Bonita Vista High (BVH) Club Blue band and Colorguard perform in the South Bay Classic tournament on Oct. 14. The tournament has recently been renamed to the Bonita Vista tournament as this year is the first time it is held on the BVH football field.
Apart from BVH, 12 other schools performed at this event. The tournament has been hosted by a different school every year and was never solidified at one location. During this event, schools showcased performances they have worked on since the beginning of the year. Club Blue members express how unusual it was seeing their school as a host for this tournament.
“The reason we call it South Bay classic is because we have never had a stable place to host it. […] Finally now we have it here at our school, which is a jaw dropping thing. It was weird seeing all the bands just parked up in our parking lot. And just like seeing what we usually see in other schools and other massive schools happen in our home school,” President, High brass section leader and senior Manuel Jurado said.
Over the years, this event has been hosted by schools like San Ysidro High, Olympian High and Otay Ranch High. Schools across San Diego compete in this event that is hosted by the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA). Club Blue began preparing for their performance in the beginning of the school year and slowly worked towards their final product, this being the first year they began preparation early.
“I was excited to be able to show off our performance. As our school hosted the tournament we would not get a trophy. It was a fun experience for us to be on our own campus performing our first show,” Percussion bass guitar player and freshman Elliot Wilson said.
Club Blue performed their field show titled, Across the Universe including the song “Across the Universe” by the Beatles. To finalize their performance, students held practices on the BVH field to familiarize students with the field’s layout. Students learned the field’s measurements and their positions during the performance.
“It was both nerve wracking and exciting because you are going in front of an audience but [ McCann] tells us, and we tell each other it is just another rehearsal before we go onto the field. Especially now that we are accustomed with our homefield, [we] ignore the audience,” Jurado said.
Club Blue has adopted a number of skills to improve their performances. On top of comparing a performance as if it was another rehearsal, the band has traditions such as saying “good skills” instead of good luck. Jurado describes it as not depending their performance on luck but rather their skills.
“This is one of the coolest experiences that I have ever had as a band director, when we finally got to host our own tournament at our own school site. […] There is a real sense of pride here about our new stadium, location and the fact that this is at BVH for the first time. So it is no longer just the Bonita Vista Tournament in name, but in place and time as well,” Band Director Mark McCann said.
Jurado and McCann both mention what they felt after the performance and how they immediately recognized the feeling as a positive one. They later went to reflect on the performance as well as referring to the score they received from the judges. No matter the score, they express how they still felt successful after they performed.
“It was really cool. We stepped off the field and there is a sense you get when you talk to students about how they are feeling, about their performance and you can just feel when they are really excited. There is a bit of a buzz without them even speaking,” McCann said.
School bands require an abundance of work and time in order to produce something they are proud of. Club Blue was able to bond with the other schools’ bands since they are similar in their commitment to their extracurricular activity. They were also able to compare what they created to what the other schools did.
“Band is such a unique opportunity. I feel like there are so many specific things that have to come together for a band to really work the way it does. The hours of practice, the design of the show, the trials and tribulations all the students have to go through is such a unique thing that is then shared amongst many other schools that have bands just like them and kids just like them doing the same thing,” McCann said.
Jurado emphasizes how it was weird experiencing what they do at other schools at his home school. Things such as a parking lot full of cars and buses from the many schools and helping new students around campus was something they were not used to. Although they were not able to watch all the bands perform, they had the opportunity to watch a few in order to connect to the hard work that they had put into it just like they have.
“One of the best parts about going to tournaments is being able to watch other groups. I remind my students all the time, when we are about to get ready to perform, we are gonna go compete. […] Every single school site is filled with kids just like them, who are working just as hard as they are and doing their absolute best, doing something that they love,” McCann said.
As students were able to run through their performance fully for the first time during a tournament, they are now working to include additional parts to their performance. McCann hopes to begin teaching students various design elements like basic dance moves to do whilst handling their equipment.
“We are marching correctly and it goes from taking that approach where you just clean things [up] and now we have to add the human element into it. The performance aspect of it. Making every moment count and making our audience members feel something, every single opportunity we possibly can. It is about maximizing those opportunities,” McCann said.
Club Blue looks to include an emotional connection in the performance in order for it to connect with their audience and allow them to understand the meaning behind it. Looking to improve in a number of ways Club Blue values working as a whole.
“We hope to just keep improving, in terms of knowing that we did better than last year and I think one of the things that McCann tells us is ‘Be better than you were the day before.’ Every single moment just try to improve,” Jurado said.
Although Club Blue has already had a few performances this school year at different schools, McCann emphasizes how this one was different. Even with the performance of the students, the location is sacred to the students more than anything.
“I am the most proud I have ever been of our program from Saturday’s performance. The students performed exceptionally well. The volunteers, admin and everybody that had to come together to make this show what it was and as amazing as it was, just made everything click,” McCann said. “For our very first tournament at our own site, we really made a statement about the quality of musicians that we have at BVH.”
McCann mentions how during their reflection, he observed the number of students who expressed their happiness with their performance. Moreover, McCann notes his lack of surprise on their positivity because of the performance he observed at the tournament.
“It is one of those things where I am walking off a field as soon as they are done and I was like, they have nailed it. Everything fell into place [like it] was supposed to. It was just a phenomenal performance. I would have been shocked if any student really felt that they just did not have a good run, because it was just undeniable,” McCann said.
