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All Bands On Deck

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By LAURA FRAZIER

lfrazier@tampatrib.com

Published: November 5, 2008

VALRICO - Spectators squinted into the bright autumn sky on a clear day at Charley Harris Stadium, where all eyes and ears were fixed on the football field and 22 marching bands prepared to strut their stuff.

The stadium at Bloomingdale High School set the stage Oct. 25 for Hillsborough County's installment of the Florida Bandmasters Association Marching Band Festival, held annually in the fall at high schools across the state.

Participating bands perform their halftime shows for a panel of judges who rate the routines from fair to superior in categories such as music effect, marching and maneuvering, percussion and auxiliary group performance.

Lennard High's Marching Longhorns kicked off the competition at 2 p.m. with their "Rock of Ages" program, a rock 'n' roll rendition of tunes popularized from the '60s to '90s.

Parents paraded in and out of the stadium between performances. Some stayed only to watch their child's group, but others lingered to take a peek at the competition.

Charleen Swiger, known at Lennard as "Band Mama," cheered in the stands for her son, John, and his fellow musicians. Swiger, president of the booster club for the festival's smallest band - 38 members, compared with Bloomingdale's 246-strong Rajun' Bulls - planned to stay most of the day to watch the other bands perform.

As the Longhorns left the field, Swiger stood to applaud and said, "It's only their second year performing, but they did great!"

During the daylong competition, bands filed on and off the field in formation while others waited their turn, practicing in huddles out of earshot at the front of the school. Parent volunteers from Bloomingdale took turns coordinating activities and selling food and merchandise at concession stands. Boosters from other schools helped load and unload trailers packed with instruments, uniforms and equipment.

Mary Beth Corcoran and her husband, Bill, waited in the bleachers for Freedom High's Marching Patriots to perform their retro "Sounds of Styx" show.

Bill Corcoran was a bit jet-lagged after returning Friday night from a trip to Puerto Rico, but he said he wouldn't miss an opportunity to cheer on his son, Christopher, a senior who plays alto sax.

His wife said it was interesting to note the nuances that make each band's performances unique.

"It's not just sound and size," Mary Beth Corcoran said. "It's about precision and movement and everything all together."

She should know. Her father is a retired high school band director from Ohio. Throughout her childhood, her dad brought a variety of musical instruments home from work and encouraged her to play them all.

"I can pretty much play anything," she said.

Corcoran now plays, along with her dad, in a band for adults who once played in high school bands. The group, sponsored by the University of South Florida, has a few dozen members who range in age from their early 20s to better than 90. They practice at USF and perform at local nursing homes and other venues.

"It gives you an opportunity to continue playing," she said.

As the Freedom High band entered the stadium, Corcoran scanned the field for her son. It was the last Bandmasters festival for Christopher, who is set to graduate in the spring.

"It's a little sad," Corcoran said. "But he wants to be in the marching band at whatever college he goes to. Our whole family has been bitten by the band bug."

THE BANDS PLAYED ON

The Florida Bandmasters Association, established in 1936, promotes high musical standards and music as an integral part of the school curriculum. Ratings results from the Oct. 25 FBA festival at Bloomingdale High will be posted soon on www.flmusic ed.org/fba. The following bands participated:

Alonso Class Act

Armwood Hawks

Blake Yellow Jackets

Bloomingdale Rajun' Bulls

Brandon Marching Eagles

Chamberlain Mighty Chiefs

Durant Cougar Pride

East Bay Marching Indians

Freedom Marching Patriots

Gaither Marching Cowboys

Hillsborough Big Red Band

Jefferson Marching Dragons

King Marching Lions

Leto Falcon Regiment

Lennard Marching Longhorns

Newsome Wolfpack

Plant City Raider Band

Riverview Shark Attack

Robinson Marching Knights

Spoto Spartan Marching Band

Tampa Bay Tech Marching Titans

Wharton Wildcats

MORE ONLINE

To view a photo gallery of the band festival by photojournalist Jim Reed, go to Brandon.TBO.com, Keyword: Band Festival.

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523.

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