Over the weekend, Dos Pueblos High School Marching Band traveled down to Walnut High School to take part in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association 2A prelims. The competition gave awards for “high percussion” and “auxiliary” in each round, and DPHS came home with both honors for their performance.
To “build up morale” before each competition, Band Director Aimee Ware said band members have developed an inside joke where they chant “807.”
“It’s stolen from top college San Luis Obispo,” Ware said. “I went to college there, and that’s what they say. Sometimes the sports teams don’t do well, and so at the end of the day, 807 the band always wins. We’re always gonna cheer.”
SCSBOA is DPHS’s circuit and 2A is DPHS’s band size. SCSBOA divided the 28 bands competing into four rounds with seven bands in each round. In DPHS’s round, marching band got second with a score of 79.7, which ties with the score of last year’s champions. Color guard earned first place with a score of 83, as well as percussion, who earned first with a score of 90, the highest score within the last five years.
Overall out of the 28 bands, marching band and color guard placed 6th, and percussion placed 3rd. Marching Band will be traveling to West Covina on Saturday for the final competition. Ware said they’re looking to beat their current score and earn a score of over 80.
Nicolas Perl (12), encouraged students who are interested in band to “just do it.”
“I always tell the story to all the freshmen, if you think it’s scary, and if you think it’s going to be a lot, it is,” Perl said. “I almost quit my freshman year, but just stick with it, wait until competition season.You’re not going to get a feel [of band] until the first football game, when we’re up in the stands going crazy and having a great time, then you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so much fun.’”
