What started out as a series of mishaps ended in victory for the Wando Marching Band last weekend.
This marching season the band won their fifth state title in the South Carolina State 5A Championship Competition and at the Super Regionals in Atlanta they won their division and finished fourth overall earning them a regional championship. But what the band really coveted was a national championship award.
Plans began several years ago for the band to attend the Bands of America (BOA) Grand National Championship. Wando Band Director Scott Rush knew the band had their work cut out for them. The best bands in the nation compete at the nationals and most of the bands are repeat attendees. Many come back year after year for the coveted award.
The trip started with less than perfect circumstances. The five buses chartered to carry the students to Indianapolis, Indiana left 2 hours late because of a malfunction on one of the buses. Another bus lost a tire on the interstate above Atlanta and further delayed the arrival time. Then the buses got lost looking for their dinner location. So the band members who should have arrived at their hotel in Indianapolis around 10 p.m. Wednesday night did not arrive until 4:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. The students had a couple of hours sleep and had to get up and make rehearsal time which was scheduled at the convention center. The students rested for a couple of hours in the afternoon and performed that night at 10:30 p.m. It was not the band's best performance but it was good enough for the band to make the semi-finals cut. What had been 91 bands was now 34 bands competing for the finalist positions.
Wando was scheduled to perform in semi-finals on Friday and Rush knew they had their work cut out for them.
The students were told they had to "bring it on" if they wanted to make it to finals. All along the goal for the band was to make it into the top 12 finalists. This would give the band the bragging rights of national champions. And "bring it on" the band did. They had their best performance of the year and won the coveted spot in the finals.
Now they were competing with 11 other bands. At this point Rush told the band members they had accomplished their goal and now it was time just to have fun. The band placed 11 in finals and that was fine by them. They knew they really couldn't beat band powerhouses such as Avon High School, Ohio: Marian Catholic High School, Illinois; L. D. Bell High School, Texas and Broken Arrow High School, Okla-homa. All these bands are multiple winners at BOA.
And have fun they did performing in the Lucas Oil Stadium, the largest indoor stadium in the nation. The band finished 11th. After the awards ceremony students were overheard saying "We beat somebody!"
The Wando Marching Band made history as the second high school marching band in South Carolina to make Grand National Championship finals.
They finished with an overall score 89.15. Just 7.45 points off from the winner Avon High School. Irmo High School placed 10th out of 12 in 1992. A new band almost never makes it to finals on their first try.
Rush summed it by saying, "I was so proud of our students for giving three great performances in Indianapolis. It was amazing to hear in the closing ceremonies, the number of years the other finalist bands made finals at Grand Nationals. There were ensembles that made it 29 times, 21 times, 19 times, 14 times, etc. and then little 'ole Wando ... making finals the first time that we went. The real message in all of this is for the kids. When you put your heart into something and give it your best, there is no better life skill. They were artistic and communicated emotional performances to the 30,000 people in attendance."
The Wando Band performed at the 2007 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic and was the recipient of the 2007 Sudler Flag of Honor by the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
The band students returned home from Indiana late Sunday afternoon. But there is no time to rest. They have their Band Fall Concert Thursday, Nov. 19 in the Performing Arts Auditorium at 7:30.