New excitement in band

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Created on Wednesday, 29 August 2012 15:41

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The Granite Hills Grizzly band rehearses new music in the band room. The theme of this year’s 2012-2013 show is “Pirates of the Caribbean.”(Photo by Kassarah Bivens/August 29, 2012)

Who knew that the Grizzly band would go on to place at many competitions and events, or even win a championship with the reputation they had? Not many people believed it was possible to have a decent band program at Granite Hills, but everything changed under the new direction of Kenny Ormonde.

“I think it was very organized and very well performed due to practice and dedication,” said junior Clayton Fox.

The band did an outstanding job last year performing music from “World of Warcaft,” based on the popular video game. The “World of Warcraft” show was definitely exciting, but how can Ormonde top that? The music chosen for this year’s halftime show is based on the wildly popular movie series, Pirates of The Caribbean.

“I chose it because the music is very exciting,” said Ormonde, “I always try to get music that would be a good fit for the band and something they would have fun playing.”

A new year means a new week of the annual band camp. Band camp was held Monday, July 30 to Fri-day, Aug. 3 from 6 to 10 pm. During band camp, new and current students were taught the necessary skills needed to prepare for upcoming performances.

“Band camp was basically all about teaching how to march with proper technique and getting the new students acquainted with our marching styles,” said Ormonde, “also it was a chance for all the students to get together and get to know each other.”

The Grizzly band practices two days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 pm to 9 pm. The stu-dents will be practicing even more this year if they expect to outdo themselves. Ormonde has high hopes for the band believing they certainly will reach their goals.

“[I want us to] just get out there and enjoy what we're doing and have fun and put on a really awesome show for everybody who is watching,” said Ormonde, “Also, I'd like to see us doing well competitively this year too with our show and also to just continue building off the program.”

With the band constantly growing, there is no telling what these students will be able to accomplish. The enrollment in the program escalated from about 50 students to 75, not including the color guard program containing roughly 26 members. The Granite Hills band this year has approximately a stagger-ing 100 members.

“I think it’s really great, all the new members make the band fantastic.” said senior band member Danny Jacuinde.

With the Grizzly band growing constantly, it is expected to be another great year of halftime shows, great music, and students showing school pride and excellence. The band is certainly an important part of Granite Hills. If the Grizzly band has proved anything, it is that Porterville has not two but, three great bands in town.

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Editor: Hannah Vehrs

Posted by: Sierra Lopez and Briana Keck

Final Editor: Madison Rice