Representatives from 107 schools will congregate on the San
Benito High School campus Saturday for the Northern California Band
Association Winter Circuit Championships.
Representatives from 107 schools will congregate on the San Benito High School campus Saturday for the Northern California Band Association Winter Circuit Championships.
The competition will hold two championships – percussion and Winter Guard. Middle schools and high schools from Northern California and parts of Nevada will compete for 55 trophies.
The event is one of the biggest music events to come to the SBHS campus, said Bill Coates, secretary of the Baler Band Boosters Club, which is organizing the event. Coates expects more than 3,000 people to attend.
“It’s a learning experience for us. We’ve never done anything this big,” he said. “It’ll be fun.”
Percussion performances will be live and run from noon to 8 p.m. in O’Donnell Gym. The winter guard groups will perform to recorded music from 8:30 a.m. to 9:20 p.m. in Mattson Gym. The SBHS Winter Guard team came in first at last year’s competition in Stockton.
Percussion includes drumming while Winter Guard adds the elements of dance and equipment to a musical performance. Equipment can include tall flags, rifles and sabers, said James Zuniga, music director and conductor at SBHS.
“There’s never been anything this huge here,” Zuniga said. “We’re jumping right into the big time here. This place is going to be crazy.”
It’s also the largest number of schools to compete in the NCBA Winter Circuit Championships, Zuniga said. Twelve members of the NCBA will judge performances.
SBHS has 13 students competing in the Winter Guard division and 12 in the percussion section. Each of SBHS’s teams has a theme; the percussion line’s is “Magic” and the Winter Guard will perform to Ravel’s “Bolero,” acting out the phases of the moon, Zuniga said.
There are four categories for schools – novice, amateur, scholastic and open. The percussion is in the novice category and the Winter Guard is in amateur. This is the last competition of the year for the drum line, but the Winter Guard has a few more, including one in San Jose on Sunday, Zuniga said.
There will also be a competition among drum majors.
Even though the campus will be flooded with people Saturday, Zuniga said it’s a good opportunity for the school and community.
“It gives other schools a chance to see what we’re like, but it’s also for the people in the community to see what other schools do,” he said. “They can see what a healthy program is and how other communities support their programs. It’s good for others to see what this place has to offer.”
General admission to the event is $8, students and seniors $5 and children age 5 and under are free. Food and souvenirs will be available. For more information, call Zuniga at 637-5831, ext. 212.
