SUNBURY — The Shikellamy Marching Braves are coming off a season that would make any football team jealous.
The band is wrapping up an undefeated season on the competition circuit, taking home first place in its division in all of its five competitions this year with the field show “The Primary Colors of Life.”
It’s been a difficult show for the band, director Scott Carey said, with three distinctly different musical selections and a fast-paced marching routine.
“We’ve really pushed the kids this year, and they’ve really responded and they’ve really come through,” Carey said before one of the band’s final rehearsals this week in preparation for Atlantic Coast Championships to be held in Hershey this weekend.
This year’s field show is comprised of three selections: “A Winters Dawn,” by John Fannin, which encompasses the color yellow, Carey said, with its energy and playfulness; “Appalachian Morning,” by Robert Sheldon, which epitomizes blue with its peaceful melody; and Roland Barrett’s “Month of the Cold Moon,” which echoes red with its aggressive tempo.
As the tempo pinged over the public address system at the C.W. Rice Middle School field, 50 high school musicians moved in tandem, sometimes for only a few measures of music at a time as their directors fine-tuned every step.
Work on the award-winning routine began in June with music rehearsal and culminated in August with the always-grueling band camp.
Despite the time commitment — up to 15 hours a week — drum major Daniel Delgado said the work is all worth it.
“I love the adrenaline rush,” Delgado, 17, of Northumberland, said. “It’s just a lot of fun, especially when you win.”
The Shikellamy Marching Braves have taken home first-place trophies from competitions in Milton, Southern Tioga, Shamokin and Mifflinburg.
The band also has taken home special awards for best drum major, best music, best percussion and best visual captions and best color guard.
“The color guard’s role in band is to show the emotion of the show,” color guard captain Rachel Mertz, 16, of Sunbury, said. “We have to portray the show through our facial expressions. We’re like the actresses of the show.”
Prior to leading one of his final rehearsals as drum major, Delgado talked not only about the rush of competing, but of the intrinsic rewards the activity brings with it.
“Most importantly we want to do it for ourselves,” Delgado said. “We love music, and that’s why we do it.”
Delgado’s perspective may come directly from the director who oversees him.
According to Carey, there are no cash awards for these competitions. In fact, the band pays its own way to competitions through various fundraisers, not so they can bask in the limelight of their trophies, but so they can improve as musicians.
“I tell the kids every competition, regardless of if you get first place or last place, as long as you’ve improved and you’ve done the best you know you can do, I’m happy,” Carey said.
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Shikellamy Marching Braves have winning season
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