Band Marches to Victory at Home

Note: Since this story was filed, the RMHS Marching Band earned 3rd place in the NESBA finals in Lawrence, MA on November 2.

The RMHS Marching Band has had an incredible season so far, ending their latest NESBA home competition with a first place finish on October 25th.

They had an incredible score of 91.070, after performing their 2025 show, “Metropolis”. After the victory, the band was excited and ready to take on finals. “I believe that at the Marching Band finals this Sunday, we will present [our] strongest show possible. We have come so far over the course of 3 months,” stated Drum Major, Avery Black (‘27) in an interview by text message. 

At the start of the season, the marching band was placing third with a score of 76.620 at their competition on September 27th in Melrose. Through hard work and determination by the students and staff, they were able to jump past other schools and surpass them. “At the beginning of the season, the band was a bit of a mess,” Black continued. “Halfway through the season, however, there was an enormous change. We are a strong group, and I anticipate that we will only get stronger.” 

Since then, every member has been doing in part by giving their maximum effort to keep the lead. Every performer matters in the scoring system in marching band because they contribute to the scoring. If one person does not have good technique, it is obvious for the judges to see their mistakes, bringing down the overall score of the band. 

Unfortunately, the RMHS Marching Band lost their 3 year winning streak in their 2024 show, “Off The Rails” by only 0.81 points to Medford.

This year, one advantage the RMHS Band has over some schools is their usage of electronic instruments, which they combine with the traditional mix of percussion, brass, and woodwinds. Electronic instrument players include guitar player Bryan Fernandez (‘26) and piano player Lucas Bowlin (‘26).

The show “Metropolis” contains three main parts. The first one describes the morning rush of a busy city, which will be the show’s main theme. It will display the winds, brass, drumline, and even the front ensemble waking up, stretching, and checking their watches. The part quickly transitions to a morning rush of going to work, creating sounds as if traveling by car or train.

The second part of the show depicts the regular rainy weather of a city. To show this, the color guard and band will be under umbrellas and scramble for shelter. The part, known as the ballot, has the main feature of the guitar and an audio recording, depicting the rain and thunder. The third stage of the performance illustrates a night rush where people race to get home from work, highlighting the peak of city life.

November 2nd, the finals bound RMHS Marching Band was ready to take the field, all full of confidence and pride. Metropolis was not just a show; it served as an example of the band’s hard work, determination, and perseverance. Hopefully, their final performance could excite our home audience about what the future will entail.