The Scarlet Regiment Band at San Benito High School is growing,
despite cutbacks in and less priority on music programs.
For SBHS’s size, its band program is small compared to other
schools in the state, said James Zuniga, music director and
conductor. But, while other schools deal with cutbacks, Zuniga said
the Scarlet Regiment Band is fortunate.
The Scarlet Regiment Band at San Benito High School is growing, despite cutbacks in and less priority on music programs.
For SBHS’s size, its band program is small compared to other schools in the state, said James Zuniga, music director and conductor. But, while other schools deal with cutbacks, Zuniga said the Scarlet Regiment Band is fortunate.
“We’re lucky in that respect in this county. We’re being supported pretty nicely,” he said.
The band has gone from 35 musicians last year to 67 this year. The Scarlet Regiment Band is composed of musicians and color guard/winter guard.
Out of the 67, 19 are on the color guard. Of the musicians, 30 are woodwinds, 10 are brass and eight are percussion players.
At its last two competitions, the band took home top honors in its various classes. At the Cupertino Tournament of Bands, the Scarlet Regiment Band earned the first place parade award and the second place auxiliary – color guard – award in their divisions.
This past weekend, at the Westside Band Review in Newman, the band placed first in its division of five bands, second out of 25 bands in the overall category, third in the high school drum major race and third place in the high school auxiliary in their division.
Zuniga said he is not surprised at how well the Scarlet Regiment Band is doing.
“The success is because they’re working toward a common goal, they believe the same thing. They’re really being passionate about what they believe in,” he said. “There’s a lot of positive support from parents, administrators and peers.”
It also doesn’t hurt that band members are coming from excellent feeder programs – the bands at Rancho San Justo and Marguerite Maze middle schools and Spring Grove and Southside schools, Zuniga said.
Even though the band receives no awards when it plays at football games or in parades, those performances are more meaningful for Zuniga.
“Football games are community performances. When you’re playing at a competition, those aren’t for the community. It’s the people here that are important,” he said, jokingly referring to trophies as paperweights.
The Scarlet Regiment Band plays the same piece at its competitions. This year, it’s “Army of the Nile” by Kenneth Alford. The band refines its performance with every competition, Zuniga said.
“We want something that’s going to be an effective presentation piece,” he said. “I look at what concepts I want the students to learn (through performing the selection).”
Most high school bands have a name similar to SBHS’s Scarlet Regiment Band. Zuniga picked the name when he arrived at SBHS three years ago. He chose scarlet because it was “more striking” than the school’s other color, white, Zuniga said.
The regiment part comes from the marching band tradition rooted in the military, he said. The word is also inclusive, referring to the musicians as well as the color guard.
The Scarlet Regiment Band will perform at SBHS’s homecoming parade Friday. Its next competition is Saturday at the Pacific Grove Band Review.
