The Revere High School Marching Band traveled to the Ohio State University (OSU) on October 15 to compete in hopes of gaining experience and preparing for the state competition.

Darren Lebeau, the head director of the marching band, explained that OSU has held this competition for the last five years, but the Marching Minutemen never could attend due to conflicts with other school-sponsored events. This year, however, the band resolved to participate regardless of external circumstances.

Lebeau described the significance of the band’s ranking in the competition.

“The band received a superior rating . . . Bands work for a superior rating so they can go to State Marching Band Finals. At SMBF, the bar is raised to earn a superior and that is what we are working for from now till Nov 3,” Lebeau said.

Gina Ciolli, a senior and field commander for the marching band, discussed the show the band performed at OSU.

“We will perform our competition show entitled ‘Let it Rain,’ which is about a thunderstorm coming to the field and leaving by the end of the show,” Ciolli said.

Lebeau elaborated on this, mentioning the reason that the band chose to perform the “Let it Rain” show. He specifically noted the band’s affinity for their music, composed by John Fannin, which they currently use in their shows.

“We have used [John Fannin’s] music for two years. We like how it sounds pop-ish, but is not the songs you hear on the radio. We can put any design concept to it. This year we added thunderstorms to make it a ‘rain’ show,” Lebeau said.

Ciolli explained the intricacies of the “Let it Rain” show and its unique elements.

“Our show has a lot of visual elements such as umbrellas to show the thunderstorm has come onto the field, the woodwinds join our flag line in the middle of the show with large flags that create an intense impact, and the band has implemented several different . . . poses and marching techniques to add dimension to our show,” Ciolli said.

Lebeau mentioned that the most challenging parts of performing at a college stadium include the spacing of the harsh marks on the field as well as the difference in how the band sounds in a larger arena.

Senior Jason Choy, the section leader of the alto-saxophones, discussed his hopes for what the band will gain from their experience at OSU.

“Hopefully it will boost confidence of the band. I think this will prepare us mentally for states, [and] I hope that Revere Marching Band keeps its energy up,” Choy said.

According to Ciolli, the band qualified for states at their first competition, and they are trying to obtain their first Superior rating in recent history at the state competition. Furthermore, Lebeau noted that the band has performed well due to their high level of motivation as well as the accurate reports from the section leaders. The band looks forward to the state competition on November 6.