High School Marching Band Continues Winning Ways

The Fair Lawn High School Marching Band looks “Bound” for glory again this year.

The award-winning ensemble opened the marching season Sept. 17 with a first place finish at the United States Scholastic Band Association contest and followed that up Saturday with a second place showing in Piscataway, NJ.

The Cutters took home special awards for “Best Music” and “Best Percussion,” at Saturday’s competition, in which they finished just behind Pennsylvania marching band powerhouse Nazareth Area High School for the competition’s top honor.

“Bound,” the marching band’s three-movement show, encompasses themes of physical bonds, emotional bonds and common bonds, and showcases all five sub-sections: woodwinds, brass, battery percussion, front ensemble and color guard.

The band, which ranked eighth nationally in the USSBA circuit last year, will travel to Northern Highlands High School in Allendale for their next competition on Sunday.

Subsequent competitions include:

• USSBA Central New Jersey Regional in Ewing, N.J. on Oct. 16
• Morris Knolls High School in Rockaway, N.J. on Oct. 22
• The USSBA NJ State Championships - Open Class in Old Bridge, N.J. on Nov. 5
• The USSBA National Championship Open Class in Annapolis, Md. on Nov. 12

Over the past decade, the FLHS Marching Band and Color Guard have never finished below 13^th nationally, and have earned six straight invitations to the United States National Marching Band Championships.