Ridge Marching Band Places 2nd in State Competition

The Ridge Marching Band was awarded second place at Saturday's New Jersey State Group IIIA Championship, in a competition with 18 bands held in Sewell. The band faces its final competition next Sunday in Pennsylvania.

The marching band continued what has been highly successfully 2011 season that night, said the band's publicity chairman, Don Grossmann. Competing against other bands in the same classification (bands with 56-75 members), Ridge was awarded a score of 92.925, trailing only Pequannock High School.

Ridge outscored North Warren High School, the defending Group IIIA champion in both 2009 and 2010, he said.

Although the Ridge does not have competition records from years prior to 2008, the result is likely the band’s highest placement and score ever in U.S. Scholastic Band Association (USSBA) events. Ridge’s previous high score was 88.075 at the last year’s Northern States Championship.

Ridge Marching Band Director Dan Zugale described the performance as an “amazing achievement,” especially since he said Group IIIA was so competitive this year.

The second through sixth place bands were separated by a margin of only 0.8 points, he noted.

Zugale praised the band for its performance. “The most important thing for me is that when the kids finished performing, they were proud of their performance regardless of placement. It is not at all easy to place so high, so we always need to remember that the real reward is the pride in knowing that you’ve done your absolute best. Placements are just the icing on the cake.”

Zugale also said the band’s Color Guard “stepped up big time this week, adding to our visual performance and overall effect.”

Facing the disappointment of having their own event canceled by the Oct. 29 snowstorm the week before, and the adversity of several canceled practices, the band members were inspired to “make up for lost time,” said Drum Major Kelsey McKeon. “We ended up getting more than a week’s worth of improvements done in two days”.

Section leader Ron Kieftenbeld added, “We still get better every week and the results show it. We have a show with a great musical arrangement, a fast moving band leading to interesting visual effects and recognizable tunes from The Lion King musical.”

Section leader Julia Grossmann said she agreed. “Everybody really likes our show’s theme. In addition, our show is technically and musically strong, very passionate and full of emotion.”

On Sunday, Ridge completes their competitive season at the National Class A Championships held annually at Allentown, Pa. Bands from six states provide a final challenge for the band.

Zugale said he is optimistic. “After several very successful competitive marching seasons, I don’t think there is any doubt now that Ridge has one of the best band programs in our class. I would very much like to see this translate into more interest for the band program because I know there is still more room to grow.”

Although they are valuable leaders of the band, Ridge only will lose 13 seniors out of 66 members, so the future looks promising for 2012.