Manatee High School's marching band keeps 'superior' streak going

MANATEE -- Manatee High School's 135-student marching band kept a remarkable streak alive Saturday.

For the 29th year in a row, the Hurricanes received straight superior grades in the Florida School Music Association's District 11 Marching Band competition, which is held annually at Hawkins Stadium on the Manatee High campus, said the Canes' senior first lieutenant and saxophone player, Carey Fieber.

"Our motto this year was, 'We can't break the streak,'" Fieber, 17, said.

The Hurricanes were the only Manatee County high school to score straight superiors in all categories, which include marching/maneuvering, general effect, music, auxiliary and percussion.

The ratings are superior, excellent, good, fair and poor.

Lakewood Ranch came the closest to matching the Canes' feat, scoring an overall superior grade but dropping to an excellent in one category -- auxiliary -- according to the final Music Performance Assessment Report.

Auxiliary includes flags and dancing.

"We have had the same band director since 1988 in Jim Bruce and we have a great group of parents every year and that helps," said Linda Boone, the Canes' assistant band director.

Before a crowd estimated at 3,000, Bayshore and Southeast both scored an overall score of "excellent" and Palmetto had a rating of "Good."

Braden River's Marching Band of Pirates will compete Saturday, as the Hawkins event coincided with the school's Homecoming Dance.

Southeast did get superiors in music and auxiliary and Bayshore took a superior in marching and maneuvering.

There were 15 schools in the competition, and North Port and Riverview matched Manatee by scoring straight superiors.

Manatee High energized the crowd with its roughly eight-minute marching show, "Epic Rock," said Johnny Martinez, the senior band captain.

"We definitely nailed the show," said Martinez "We gave it more than 100 percent and we rocked the audience."

Several band members said they could feel the audience with them during Epic Rock, especially during the last song, "House of the Rising Sun."

"Our brass section was tremendous, especially Christian Granado," Martinez said. "He had a 'House of the Rising Sun' solo and nailed it. The brass in general was terrific. I also have to do a shout out to the instrument leads. They pushed forward on their instruments to help the rest of their sections."

Martinez also credited band director Bruce for the record being intact.

"At Manatee High we have a tradition of excellence, and we never let that go," Martinez said. "Part of that is Mr. Bruce. He is a great person whom you can talk to. He's not like a scary teacher. He's very likeable. Past alumni are always coming to visit. He pushes us not to the point of breaking but to the point of showing full ability on our instruments."

Fieber said the top grade is a result of hard work.

"We have been working since August and our show has come really far," Fieber said. "It has gone up on so many different levels since August."

Fieber, like Martinez, said a high point Saturday was when the big Cane band exploded into "House of the Rising Sun."

"At one point, we face the audience. I could see faces, and I got goosebumps because they were all with us," Fieber said. "It's so exciting. It made us want to groove to that New Orleans type of feel."

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Manatee High School's marching band keeps 'superior' streak going ."