Thirteen marching bands compete at DeKalb High School Marching Band Championship

DeKALB – The second annual DeKalb High School Marching Band Championship took place Saturday at DHS Stadium.

The competition featured 13 northern Illinois high school marching bands and a performance by DeKalb High School’s Marching Barbs. The 13 competing high schools performed a field show to be judged by and receive feedback from industry professionals.

Marybeth Kurnat, music educator with DeKalb School District 428, was the competition’s music individual judge.

“I’m judging based on tone quality, musicianship and technical accuracy,” Kurnat said. “Every kid out there has their dot on the field. It’s an entirely different show if you’re missing just one person or hit one wrong note. If you make 10 mistakes on a test, you might still get an A. It’s not that way when it comes to [judging] marching bands.”

The bands competed in four classes based upon a combination of school and band size. There were awards for class placement and captions: best color guard, best percussion and top three in class.

DeKalb County marching bands that won awards include Sandwich High School’s Renegade Regiment for best percussion and first place in Class 1A; Sycamore High School’s Marching Spartans placed second place in Class 3A.

The competition ended with a performance by DeKalb High School’s Marching Barbs. As the hosting team, the Marching Barbs did not participate in the competition.

Steven Lundin, the DeKalb High School band director, described the competition as a way to give the bands “an experience that is unique and educational.”

“Unlike a football game, the competition gives the bands an audience that’s there just for them, to hear and see them perform,” Lundin said. “All of the crowd is there to cheer on the marching band, not a sports team. It’s a positive performance opportunity for the students and way to get exposure and awards for the bands.”

This is a list of winning schools:

Class 1A

Best Color Guard: Richmond Burton Rocket Marching Band

Best Percussion: Sandwich Renegade Regiment

Third: Richmond-Burton Rocket Marching Band

Second: Oregon High School Marching Hawks

First: Sandwich Renegade Regiment

Class 2A

Best Color Guard: Grant Community Marching Bulldogs

Best Percussion: Niles West Marching Band

Third: N/A

Second: Niles West Marching Band

First: Grant Community Marching Bulldogs

Class 3A

Best Color Guard: Rochelle “Hub” Marching Band

Best Percussion: Kaneland Marching Knights

Third: Rochelle “Hub” Marching Band

Second: Sycamore Marching Spartans

First: Kaneland Marching Knights

Class 4A

Best Color Guard: Plainfield East Marching Bengals

Best Percussion: Plainfield East Marching Bengals

Third: Plainfield East Marching Bengals

Second: Oswego East High School

First: Plainfield South Marching Cougars