The Lake Orion High School Marching Band capped their best-ever season with a second place finish at the Michigan Competing Band Association finals, held Saturday at Ford Field.
Lake Orion easily set a new school record score, eclipsing 89 points from the Flight I judges.
‘They performed what we had worked on to the highest of their abilities,? LOHS Band Director Michael Steele said. ‘I’m still ecstatic over what we accomplished. It’s great to see hard work pay off.?
Plymouth-Canton continued their long streak as the state’s top band, earning a score of 91.70. Lake Orion’s 89.15 was closer to the Plymouth band than any school at any MCBA competition in recent memory.
Lake Orion’s performance of ‘The Per7ect Number? was scored higher than Plymouth-Canton’s on three of the seven judges? sheets: Music Individual, Music Effect 2, and Visual Individual, meaning both judges on the field actually scored LO higher.
‘I think that says a lot about the performance aspect of it,? Steele said. ‘It shows the strength of our performers.?
Plymouth-Canton swept all three caption awards, however.
West Bloomfield finished third with a score of 82.25.
Lake Orion had been about two to three points better in head-to-head competition than West Bloomfield all season. Steele attributed the jump to nearly seven points at states to his band’s dedication in practice during the final week.
He said it was ‘far and away? the best performance during his tenure at LOHS.
‘After watching the tape, I’m not going to say it was perfect, but it was darn close,? Steele said. ‘I was extremely happy with what I heard on the field.?
The Dragons won two invitationals earlier in the season and finished third at states a year ago.
In addition to the band’s success, two of the show’s soloists, Stacey Jones (trumpet) and Daniel Turchyn (baritone), won $500 scholarships from the MCBA.
The MCBA awards a total of eight scholarships to students of member schools in all four flights. Lake Orion won four awards in a single year recently, too.