Squaring off: Marching band takes home accolades with ‘Sacred Geometry’ performance

The marching band kicked off its season by taking home a handful of awards at the Cupertino Tournament of Bands on Oct. 11 with an ambitious new show called “Sacred Geometry.”

The group won first place for field show, first place for woodwinds, second place for brass, third place for percussion and first place for auxiliary in the 5A division. Among the competitors were Cupertino High School, Foothill High School, Mountain View High School and more. Homestead High School took home numerous awards and sweepstakes, to the disappointment  of some members.

“I definitely think we deserved to win more than we did,” senior trombonist Sameer Iyengar said. “But no matter the turn out, I’m happy with what we got because I know that we performed well and made an impact.”

Drum major Eddie Chen said that despite small errors, the performance was a great start to the season.

“We had a mishap at the beginning of our show, but everyone recovered from it extremely well and we performed the rest of it without any major breaks in our rhythm,” Chen said.

This year, the composers have added a string trio consisting of violist Joowon Lee, cellist Damee Moon and violinist Jackie An into the show. The trio stands with the front ensemble, playing for the entirety of the performance.

“Orchestra and band were always separated in my mind as two different entities, but this year it’s amazing to be able to do the two things I love at once,” Moon said.

Written by composers and Saratoga staff members Vince Oliver and Kohei Mizushima, “Sacred Geometry” is an 8-minute show that aims to capture the essence of Bach’s style.

“We’re using this style called ‘concerto grosso,’ which basically means the music is passed back and forth between the soloists and the full ensemble,” Moon said. “It’s just one of so many new and incredible things being incorporated into this show.”

The band will attend the Western Band Association (WBA) Dublin Competition on Nov. 1, Bands of America (BOA) competition in Los Angeles from Nov. 7-9 and the WBA James Logan competition on Nov. 15. Their senior night will be on Oct. 18, where they will do a complete run-through of the performance, and they will play at all remaining home football games.

With only three competitions left, the drum majors are expecting only to improve from here on out.

“I want to be able to go to BOA and James Logan and come home with a sense of accomplishment and be able to take pride in what we did,” Chen said. “It’s an amazing feeling to step off the field knowing that we did our best and gave it our all.”

The band is gearing up to complete learning the show and wow audiences at football games and competitions alike.

“This is a show with the potential to really deliver something unlike anything we’ve ever performed before with its unique and action packed music and drill,” said Iyengar. “If [we] step up to the plate, this year will have a lasting legacy.”