Dartmouth High School Marching Band Wins 5th Consecutive National Championship
DARTMOUTH (CBS) - The Dartmouth High School marching band knows a little something about winning, and they've got the hardware to prove it.
"The kids work really hard every day and it's all about the excellence so for them it's about the performance day in and day out. They want to be great at all the rehearsals and every performance," said Band Director Ian Flint.
Saturday was no different, when the band took home the Group 5 title during the 2021 USBANDS Open Class National Championships.
"We did music from Scheherazade, and then we did Seal's 'Kiss From a Rose and then the end of the show was 'El Tango de Roxanne' from Moulin Rouge," Flint said.
Even though it was the program's fifth consecutive national title, and 10th overall, band members admit to some nerves during the competition at MetLife Stadium.
"It's really cool. You walk on the field, you have the butterflies going because of the big lights, the crowds there and I don't know, it's really surreal," said Senior Josh Huamoniz.
"Going into it I was a little nervous but the minute we hit the field it was like, oh I know we can do it. Just the feeling of it is indescribable," said Jesse Walker, Dartmouth HS class of '24.
En route to winning the trophy, the Dartmouth HS marching band scored a 98.0, which was the highest overall score of the night out of any division.
"Getting a 98.0 is pretty much the top score you can get at a national competition and it's one of the highest scores in the country this year," said Flint.
"It's awesome. It's great to do it year after year for Dartmouth. It's just really good for us as a community and as a band," said Huamoniz.