And One Band Becomes Two

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho Section 10/17/09

Last spring when it was officially announced that Cleveland High School was opening in the fall, a wave of unrest and sadness rolled through the marching band practice field at Rio Rancho High School. There was a crack in the universe and the unthinkable became reality. This tight knit group of musicians who had memorized the Rams’ fight song together, played numerous football games together and had competed together against other schools was now going to be split in two.

When the band camps started in August in the scorching sun, there were now two marching bands at two high schools in Rio Rancho for the very first time. Keith Gilbert took the helm at Cleveland High School and had the daunting task of bringing together former RRHS band members and creating CHS’s first marching band ever. Kurt Schmidt, Director of Bands at RRHS did what he does best and continued the tradition he created in the award winning marching Rams; albeit somewhat smaller in size now.

Football games happened and each band grew stronger and better as the weeks went on. Coming off the heels of the Pomona Marching Band Festival in Arvada, CO in September, the RRHS marching band competed in the NM Pageant of the Bands last weekend at Manzano High School in Albuquerque. Twenty-four marching bands from around the state strutted their stuff and flashed the brass including newly formed CHS. I have to admit it was a little melancholy seeing former RRHS kids wearing Cleveland uniforms. But this was Cleveland’s debut in a competition and everyone was eager to see just how powerful the Storm would be. Turns out the band was more like a tornado.

RRHS band took first place in their class. They also won Best Drum Majors, Best Color Guard and Best Percussion. CHS took first place in their class. They also won Best Color Guard and Best Drum Majors. Rio Rancho sweeps two classes with two high schools and you could hear the roar for miles.

I teared up every time Rio Rancho won an award. I teared up every time Cleveland won an award. What was even cooler than the teams winning was how the once-teammates-now-rivals still cheered each other on whole heartedly and in a way, were still one team. These bands may be from different schools but they now find camaraderie being from one town. Change can be hard, but not impossible.

For those of you who didn’t make it to the Pageant of the Bands last weekend you can catch the performance on YouTube; just type in RRHS marching band. Or better yet head on down to UNM today where both bands are competing in the 2009 Zia Marching Band Fiesta at University Stadium along with 32 other high school marching bands from NM and surrounding states. It is truly a fun event to see and I suggest if you are not doing anything today, go cheer on our town’s marching bands. Your last chance to catch both bands will be Friday night, October 30 at RRHS when the Rams take on the Storm. It will be the first time the two high schools play each other. I can feel the excitement already.

Go Rio Rancho! Go Cleveland! We’ll all be in the stands today cheering you on. Pom pom in one hand, hankie in the other.

Quote of the Week: “Marching band today isn't your grandmother or grandfather's marching band where the band walked out onto the field, stopped and played a couple of songs and walked off the field. These students are moving thousands of steps at high tempos all the while playing an instrument or using a piece of color guard equipment during one show.” - John Mashburn