Troy Athens Marching Band Breaks Record, Heads to State and National Contests

After setting a school record Saturday at the Lakeland Invitational, marching band members are setting their sights on capping off a successful season with good scores at the last competitions of the year – state and nationals.

The band snagged third place and scored 84.64 points at Saturday's invitational, breaking the school’s record of 83.6 points out of 100 in a band competition. Marching band director Jeff McCoy said crossing the 90-point threshold is rare and that only a handful of teams usually cross the 80-point threshold during competitions.

The Red Hawks will perform at 9 a.m. Saturday during the Michigan Competing Band Association State Championship at Ford Field, then will travel Thursday to Indianapolis to compete at the Bands of America Grand National Championships.

McCoy noted the band is ranked seventh in Michigan.

“I don’t have a goal for states; it’s a double-edged sword, you can’t control how the other bands do," McCoy said. "It’s just like the Olympics or diving, where the judges make a very subjective ruling over what we’re doing.

“More than anything, I just want us to thrill the crowd,” he said.

Drum major and senior Kyle McCall said he would like to see the band beat the new record and attain a score of 85 points at the state championship. Though it is something the band hasn’t done in the past, McCall said he sees no reason why the band can’t do it this year, because he believes they have a winning formula.

“I’m nervous because it’s my senior year, and if something happens out of our control, then it could be bad, or detrimental to our score,” McCall said. “But as far as our band’s ability, I’m not nervous at all; I think we are really well-prepared.”

Fellow drum major Oona Goodwin-Smith said her goal for the band in the remaining competitions is to stay consistent with how it has competed throughout the season.

“Ultimately, we just have to give our best performance because that’s really what it’s about at the end of the day,” Goodwin-Smith said. “I’m really excited about it. We need to show the other bands that we are a force to be reckoned with.”

A meaningful performance

McCoy, who has directed the Red Hawks since 2000 and has been a director overall for 23 years, said he is most impressed with this year’s group. Troy Athens has had many successful seasons in the past and has qualified for states every year since 1991, he noted, but he said this group stands out.

“It’s a really unique group of kids," McCoy said. "They just have a terrific work ethic – their ability to work together to solve problems and bring the best out of each other is as good as I’ve seen.

“On top of that, their musicianship is outstanding, and their attention to detail is continuing to improve,” he said.

Goodwin-Smith said the success this season might have to do with the fact that of the band's 111 members, 30 are seniors. “We have a lot of experience this year,” she noted.

McCall said he thought the type of performance overall reached a new caliber because it tells a story and sends a message with the music collection – something a bit different than in years past. He also noted the band had come together more this year as a family.

The story he referred to is “Spirit of Adventure; the Amelia Earhart Story.” McCoy noted that though Earhart had many hurdles and roadblocks to overcome in her life, she didn’t give up, which is something the band highlights in its performance. Each of the four numbers in the set inspires a different feeling, representing events in Earhart’s life and after she disappeared.

“There’s just a lot that went into it, and thought behind it – a lot of soul,” McCall said.

The band begins with “One With the Wind” by Matt Conoway, which has a feeling of excitement and adventure, McCoy noted. The song “Disappearance” by Tom Weidner symbolizes her disappearance, and a color guard member who portrays Earhart unexplainably "disappears" during the number. The following songs are meant to represent the feeling of her spirit watching over them. At the end of their performance, band members reveal that they are wearing yellow scarves – as Earhart did.

“I feel like we’ve been able to bring the show to life in a way that honors her as an American hero, icon and her spirit of adventure,” McCoy said.

Along with the hardworking students, McCoy noted that the instructional staff, school boosters and supportive school district in general were part of the ingredients that helped create the outstanding season. 

“It’s common to reach this point of this season and maybe not have a lot of gas left in the tank and have the kids not pushing quite as hard, but this group has been probably the group with the most tenacity and consistent efforts throughout the season,” McCoy said.

Although nationals is the last competition of the year for the band, the members still have one final appearance to make before they hang up their uniforms. This year, as many years in the past, they will perform in the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit.