Ridgewood HS Marching Band Wins First Place in USBands Compeition

The Ridgewood High School Marching Band took first place in last week’s USBands competition at J.P. Steven HS on Oct. 5, sweeping all caption awards, including Best Music, Best Visual and Best Effect.

The band also placed first on Sept. 27 at Pequannock HS, winning the award for Best Music.

The band, under the direction of John Luckenbill, marches 96 members for the 2014 season and will continue their competitive season this weekend at Jackson Memorial High School. The band will also travel to Rutgers University on Oct. 18 for USBands NJ State Championships.

This year’s field show, “Rise,” depicts the life of a phoenix. The marching band starts with a Steven Reineke composition, ”Rise of the Firebird” and then feature their percussion section in the ”Infernal Dance” by Igor Stravinsky. This year’s ballad is by Dmitri Shostakovich, entitled “The Fire of Eternal Glory.”

The marching band then closes their show with music that symbolizes the firebird rising from the ashes, Stravinsky’s “Finale” from “The Firebird.”

The bands remaining performance schedule is as follows:

Saturday, Oct. 11: MB Competition at Jackson Memorial HS

Saturday, Oct. 18: MB Competition- USBands State Championships at Rutgers University

Friday, Oct. 31: RHS Home Football Game - Pre-Game Concert 6:15 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 1: MB Competition at MetLife Stadium- Yamaha Cup

Friday, Nov. 7: RHS Home Football Game - Pre-Game Concert 6:15 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 9: MB Competition- USBands National Championships at J. Birney Crum Stadium, Allentown, PA

Friday, Dec. 5: Downtown for the Holidays Performance- 5-7 p.m.