On Nov. 19, 2023, the Amador Valley Marching Band and Color Guard performed their 2023 field show Mirror, Mirror at the Western Band Association State Championships under the lights of Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium.
“I think that this has been the greatest production that we have ever put on. I remember I overheard Mr. Cordoba one time, he was talking about next year’s show and he was like, next year’s show is going to be super edgy and it’s going to be super cool. And I was just thinking, I really hope that it lives up to that. And it did.” said Olivia Cheng (‘24), Percussion Captain.
In preparation for Champs, the Marching Band and Color Guard had constructed every detail of their field show since late July of this year. Together, the performers along with staff members spent over two thousand hours perfecting the show for their final performance.
“We’ve been practicing all season and have competitions along the way that are checkpoints towards our championship performance. Our practice schedule didn’t change going into champs, but we definitely found a new level of focus to get ready” said Jon Grantham, Amador Valley Band Director.
The band had faced a setback regarding the cancellation of prelims the day before champs due to the hazardous weather, leaving them to have one last performance rather than two. However, some seniors had considered it as a memorable moment to end their season.
“Even though [prelims] got canceled, everyone saw the energy in it and it kept building until [champs]. But I feel like it’s really good” said Hillel Lu (‘24), Tenor Sax Section Leader.
Amador Valley Marching Band has been around since 1928 starting with nearly 23 students. Today, the band has grown to more than 200 students all with a shared passion for this activity. Since 2005, the band has been awarded a continuous streak of finishing in the top ten at WBA finals, excluding the pandemic year. This year, the band placed sixth in the 6A category in championships.
“All the seniors, just like Grantham says, we are the Survivor class. And to see such a beautiful show come to life about an evil queen who’s not noticed next to Snow White, and to us seniors, it feels like we haven’t been noticed because of COVID. So I think it’s just been beautiful how ironic that’s been. And our seniors share a special thing that I feel like has been perpetrated” said Anisha Madiraju (‘24), Color Guard Captain.
Mirror, Mirror has been a special ending for the Marching Don seniors. Although their marching careers started rocky due to being online their first season, they are grateful to be able to perform Mirror, Mirror as their last for Amador Valley.
