The Santa Monica High School Viking Marching Band, competing in the first field show tournament of the year, took part in the 2013 Baldwin Park High School Field Tournament last Saturday.
The students performed their show, entitled “Red and the Wolf,” which was led by Drum Major Sophie Horwitz-Hirsch and featured two students, Liza Mirkin and Francis Abastillas, in the title roles.
The show included musical selections from Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” Copland’s “Letter from Home,” Rachmaninov’s “Little Red Riding Hood” Etude, Op. 39, and Weber’s “Der Freischutz” (Wolf Glen Scene).
The marching band was awarded the highest honors (Sweepstakes) in the areas of: Music Performance, Music Effect, Visual Effect, and Percussion. The color guard placed first in their division as well.
All this culminated in the group receiving the tournament’s overall Band Sweepstakes/Championship for the 1A/2A/3A division.
This was the first overall Sweepstakes Championships for the Santa Monica High School Viking Band’s senior class, and over 40 percent of this group were performing in their first ever field tournament.
The group currently has the highest qualifying score in Southern California for the SCSBOA championships, which will be held in Mt. Carmel on November 23.
