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Braden River’s Marching Band of Pirates captures state title
They had eight minutes to show Florida Marching Band Coalition judges that they were the best Class 3A marching band in the state of Florida this year.
Braden River High School’s Marching Band of Pirates, which includes 70 musicians and 30 color guard, had spent 500 hours since June practicing and preparing all in the hope that they would get a chance to perform their eight-minute show called “The Human Experience: Anger, Hope, Joy and Passion” in the 3A FMBC finals Saturday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
In the semifinals Saturday morning, the Pirates earned a finals berth. But there was no guarantee the Pirates would seize the moment Saturday night against the four other finalists.
But they did.
“They executed their show in the finals to an incredibly high level of skill and precision,” Braden River director of bands, Jeramiah Bowman, said Sunday. “Musically, they played with great style and with a ton of emotion, and they had fun with the show. I had told them, ‘You’ve done all the work. Tonight is celebrating you and Braden River.’ They connected with the audience. They played with anger, hope, joy and passion and, thankfully, they were rewarded.”
The Marching Band of Pirates took their third state title in the last six years, following titles in 2012 and 2013 under former band leader Kendall Carrier, according to Bowman.
Braden River also won Best General Effect, Best Visual Performance and Individual Music titles.
Lakewood Ranch High competed in the 4A semifinals Saturday in Plant City but did not advance to the finals.
The Pirates, who finished out of the top five in 2016, Bowman’s first year as band director, were led by senior drum major Connor Landers and junior drum majors Marshall Knapp and Giordano Scarano.
“It’s a huge commitment,” Bowman said of being a Pirate or any high school band member. “Kids have so many opportunities to do other things in school. We tell them, ‘If you want to do this, you have to sacrifice something, but it is worth it.’ They got a taste of that last night. They peaked at the perfect time. Our semifinal performance earlier on Saturday was our best run ever, and I told them we need a better one Saturday night, and they did it.”
Bowman, 29, came up with the human emotions theme because he felt everyone could relate to it.
He then called on assistant band director Doug Downer and color guard director Ricardo Robinson to help him come up with a show concept and pick music. They selected Michael Kamen’s symphony, “The New Moon in the Old Moon’s Arms.”
“We picked it because the first part is very aggressive, which fits anger,” Bowman said. “There is a very hopeful, beautiful section. There is a dance movement, which fits joy and, finally, there is gorgeous, passionate music at the end. It’s a very grand buildup into a grand thing. The kids rocked it.”
The Marching Band of Pirates received a hero’s welcome from their fans when they returned to Manatee County around 2 a.m. Sunday.
The parents of Hannah Brady, 16, a junior and leader of the clarinet section, were part of a Pirate rooting contingent of about 200.
“I think we were all surprised when we won,” said Hannah’s mother, Elizabeth Hodges. “We thought this year might be a transition year. But these kids worked incredibly hard. We are very proud of them. This is pretty special. All of the bands which competed were excellent.”
Richard Dymond: 941-745-7072, @RichardDymond
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