Next up for this crazy marching season is our very own Jenison Marching Band Invitational this Saturday.  Over 40 bands will be performing throughout the day.  Thank you in advance to all of you who are signed up to help, we could not do this without you!!!  There are still some shifts available if you forgot to sign up.   Check out the volunteer invitational website to see the sign up and to get valuable info about your job and parking.

jivolunteer.weebly.com/

Jenison performs twice on Saturday.  Their first performance is at 1:30pm at the end of the Scholastic competition and the second performance is at 9:30pm at the end of the MCBA competition.  There will be an official schedule for our students on the band website within the next couple days about when to report for each performance, however, students are not required to be there all day.  Some choose to volunteer as guides for the visiting bands so you may want to ask your student if he/she signed up for this.

Both performances are considered "exhibition" performances for Jenison which means they are not in competition.  However, both performances ARE judged and the band receives a score and feedback from the judges.  This is especially important for the MCBA performance at 9:30pm.  In order for the band to compete at the state competition, they must qualify.  Only the top 10 bands in the state in each flight (we are flight II) get to compete at Ford Field.  You must have at least two MCBA scores to qualify.  These scores are averaged together and the top 10 bands are ranked.  Bands then perform in reverse order at Ford Field (best score performs last), so the scores matter.  Grant and Westshore are the other two MCBA shows we are competing in this year.  Not all marching bands compete in the more competitive MCBA circuit.  The Scholastic circuit (the morning of our invitational) is another option for bands.  Most MCBA bands compete in both as this allows for practice performing and opportunities to show off the show they have brought together.

We are heading into a marathon of competition season...with no break until after Nationals in Indy.  Are you ready?  We've had a gorgeous fall so far and the weather has been cooperating quite nicely, except for the extreme heat, but hey it could have been snowing....  The next four weekends will include outdoor performances, not to mention outdoor rehearsals.  While the weather for the next week still looks pretty mild, we all know that in Michigan this can change at any moment.  For rehearsals it's best to dress in layers so if your student gets warm or cold he/she can adjust to the temperature.  For competition, the band doesn't have this luxury.  However, they are allowed to wear long underwear/leggings under their uniform.  They perform rain or shine.  Both State and Nationals are indoors (yea!).

​State Competition
Flight II starts at 7:30pm this year.  Our actual performance time depends on how we finish the MCBA season (average of our MCBA scores from Grant, Westshore, and our own invitational).  Ten bands compete in each flight and are given 15 minutes to get on the field, perform, and get off the field.  Band performances are ordered from low to high score.  This means we will likely perform at 9:30 or 9:45pm.  Awards will follow.  If you think you want to spend the night in Detroit, be aware that the kids will arrive home around 3am.  You are allowed to pick up your student after awards if you'd like them to stay with you.  This should be arranged with the band directors ahead of time.

Nationals
Once again, if you are thinking about going to Indy, you will want to secure a hotel soon.  We perform on Thursday and again on Saturday if we make semi-finals.  The semi-finalists are announced on Friday night.  The band will watch the finals and leave Indy around 11pm Saturday night to drive home.

If you would like to save $2 per ticket for the state competition at Ford Field, orders are due tomorrow, Oct 2.  See post below for order form.