The Jefferson Marching Colonials performed on Oct. 25 at the Bands of America (BOA) regionals competition held at the University of Delaware, bringing months of preparation to the stage. The band placed fifth in the preliminary round and finals round.
After months of rehearsals, the Marching Colonials arrived at the University of Delaware for the BOA competition.
“[The BOA regionals competition] was very fun and rewarding,” freshman clarinetist Glenda Lu said. “I enjoyed being able to see so many incredible bands that had so much presence and impact.”
Despite the excitement, the band faced a grueling schedule, starting with a 5:30 a.m. wake-up time and ending with a 2:30 a.m. return to Jefferson.
“The early call time and late night [arrival was] pretty rough, and the long walk from the buses, to the trucks and stadium was annoying,” Lu said. “But I did enjoy that it gave me the opportunity to hang out with my friends [for] longer.”
While the schedule may have been difficult, the overnight trip added special memories beyond the performance.
“The sleepaway part was pretty fun for me, because I had great roommates and I was glad for the hotel,” Lu said. “Otherwise, we probably would’ve had to get up very early to [get] to Jefferson.”
The competition also served as a reunion, offering a chance for the drum majors to reconnect with other drum majors they met over the summer during the drum major camp, including those from the University of Delaware.
“We’ll get to see a lot of really great bands that we only get to see once a year, and our performance tomorrow will be great no matter what score we receive,” senior Drum Major Grace Bai said.