Mechanicsburg High School Marching Band

The Mechanicsburg High School Marching Band is a marching band from the Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, United States. They are called the Wildcats.[1] Local residents, members, and fans associated with the group also refer to them as the "Maroon Machine."

History

Mechanicsburg has a rich marching band tradition going back to 1929.[2] They began competing in the Tournament of Bands in 1988.

1988

First win at Tournament of Bands Chapter VI championships.

1989

First appearance at Atlantic Coast Championships, placed 2nd in Group 3. The show included music from Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, Candide and Niner Two.

1992

First win at Atlantic Coast Championships, competing in Group 4. This elaborate show featured songs from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, complete with set pieces, tarps, and dancing characters. Characters included in the show were Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Chip. The band edged out Carlisle High School (Carlisle, PA), who finished in 2nd place, to bring home this trophy. The band director at this time was Michael Snyder.

2003

This was a successful year for the band which won every competition it entered up to the Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast championship.[3]

2005

The 2005 show was entitled "A Suite For Winter". The band claimed 1st place prize on the night of November 12, 2005 at Lackawanna County Stadium in Moosic, PA. The band won first place in Group 3 with a score of 98.80, the highest score ever in TOB history (tying Mechanicsburg's 98.80 Group 4 output in 1994). The show also earned the caption awards for high music, visual, and brass.[4][5]

2006

The band successfully defended its title on November 12, 2006 when they again won the TOB Group 3 Atlantic Coast Championships. Their show, entitled "Flight" earned a score of 98.05. In addition to the first-place finish, they were awarded the trophies for high music, visual, percussion, and auxiliary.[6][7]

2007

On November 10, 2007 the MASH band performed their 2007 show, "An Irish Heritage" and won their third title in a row at the TOB Group 3 Atlantic Coast Championships at the Delaware State University's Alumni Stadium in Dover, DE with a record-tying score of 98.80 (Set by themselves, twice). They were additionally awarded for high music, visual, auxiliary, and brass.[8]

2008

On November 16, 2008 at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown, PA, the band performed their show "Above the Clouds" and won their fourth straight Group 3 TOB ACC title with a score of 97.35. The class of 2009 subsequently became the first Mechanicsburg graduates to ever win four straight championships. The band also took home awards for high music, visual, brass and percussion.[9] This was the band's final year under director Dane Hildebrand. Hildebrand finished his 10th year as Mechanicsburg's director on high note, winning for the sixth time.

2009

The band won its fifth consecutive Group 3 TOB Atlantic Coast Championship at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, PA on November 1, 2009. The Sunday night performance of their field show "Earth" earned them a score of 96.85 along with high music, visual, percussion, and auxiliary.[10] It was their 11th ACC victory in school history, having already won Group IV in 1992, '94, '95, and '96, and Group III in '99, 2000, '05, '06, '07, and '08. They continue to hold the Group III high-score record (98.80 in 2005 and 2007) and the Group IV record (98.80 in 1994). These three 98.80s also stand as the overall highest scores received in the history of Tournament Of Bands. It was the first season with new band director Michael Drobish.[11]

2010

Back in Group 4 competition for the first time since 1997, the 2010 MASH band were not able to stretch their winning streak to 6 years. With a score of 95.25, their show "Ice" earned them a 3rd-place finish and high auxiliary at Atlantic Coast Championships at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, PA.

2011

Changing back to Group 3, the MASH band also had a change of director in 2011. Ben Goldsborough, who was previously band director at nearby Cedar Cliff High School, became the new leader of the Mechanicsburg Marching Band program. In a transition year, the band placed 3rd again at Atlantic Coast Championships at Hersheypark Stadium with a score of 94.40 as well as winning the high auxiliary award for the fifth time in six years. 94.40 is the lowest Atlantic Coast Championship score ever in MASH's TOB history.

2012

In its second season under Goldsborough's direction, the 2012 MASH band performed their new-look show titled "The Factory" at Atlantic Coast Championships in Hershey, PA and regained their place at the top of TOB's Group 3, earning a score of 97.70 as well as taking home the captions for high visual, percussion, auxiliary, and brass, while sharing the high music award with local rivals Camp Hill High School. In addition to competing in Tournament of Bands, the 2012 MASH band competed in another marching band circuit, USBands (formerly known as USSBA). The band took first place at a USBands competition at Cedar Cliff High School and performed at the USBands National Championships on November 10, 2012 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The marching band took third place with a score of 96.388.

2015

Now at Group 5 Open in the USBands circuit, and Group 4 Open in TOB, the 2015 MASH band performed a new show called "Nightscapes" at the TOB Chapter 6 Championships. It was at Cedar Cliff High School in West Shore Stadium, but they lost to the West Shore Marching Band. They went to USBands National Championships, and placed 1st in Group 5 Open. Not only did the band win the Overall Group 5 Championship, but they also brought home awards for Outstanding Colorguard, High Visual, and High Music. The band was directed by Ben Goldsborough.

2016

The band's show in 2016 was entitled "Red Riding Hood." It put a dark twist on the classic fairy tale in which Red is the leader of the wolf pack. They were still in Group 4 Open in TOB and Group 5 Open in USBands. They placed first in TOB Chapter 6 Championships and USBands State Championships, then 2nd in USBands National Championships.

2017

In 2017 the band suffered a loss in numbers and was demoted to group 4-Open in USBands. The MASH Marching Band’s 2017 show was titled “The Heist.” It told the story of the Gardner Museum Heist. They placed 8th out of 16 in their MetLife performance.

2018

The 2018 show is titled "Into the Deep Unknown". It describes going out to sea and adventure away from home.

Atlantic Coast Championships

Their scores at the Atlantic Coast Championships are:[12]

YearGroupScorePlaceCaption Awards
1989Group 395.952nd
1990Group 495.154th
1991Group 396.803rd
1992Group 497.251st
1993Group 496.852ndVisual
1994Group 498.80*1st
1995Group 497.651st
1996Group 498.051stMusic, Visual
1997Group 494.559th
1998Group 395.904thAuxiliary
1999Group 397.251stPercussion, Auxiliary
2000Group 398.551stMusic, Visual, Percussion, Auxiliary, Brass
2001Group 394.955th
2002Group 394.555th
2003Group 396.402ndMusic, Auxiliary
2004Group 397.452nd
2005Group 398.80*1stMusic, Visual, Brass
2006Group 398.051stMusic, Visual, Percussion, Auxiliary
2007Group 398.80*1stMusic, Visual, Auxiliary, Brass
2008Group 397.351stMusic, Visual, Percussion, Brass
2009Group 396.851stMusic, Visual, Percussion, Auxiliary
2010Group 495.253rdAuxiliary
2011Group 394.403rdAuxiliary
2012Group 397.701stMusic**, Visual, Percussion, Auxiliary, Brass

*TOB record high score

**Co-winner

References

  1. ↑ T.W.Burger (November 1, 2009), Mechanicsburg Marching Wildcats take first place for fifth time in a row, The Patriot
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  3. ↑ Joseph Cress, Tiffany Pakkala (7 November 2003), Musicians ready for challenge, The Sentinel
  4. ↑ Cress, Joseph; Barbim, Andrew (13 November 2005). "Wildcat band is No. 1". The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  5. ↑ "2005 TOB Atlantic Coast Championships Groups 2 & 4 - Mossic, PA". Tournament of Bands Information Archive. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  6. ↑ Barbin, Andrew (13 November 2006). "Mechanicsburg band takes No.1". The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "2006 Atlantic Coast Championships Groups 1 & 3". Tournament of Bands Information Archive. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  8. ↑ Barbain, Andrew (12 November 2007). "Wildcats take third straight ACC title". The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  9. ↑ "Mechanicsburg band takes first for fourth straight year". The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  10. ↑ Gross, Greg (2 November 2009). "Mechanicsburg wins top honor in band competition". The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  11. ↑ Dolson, Erica (16 September 2009). "Mechanicsburg has new music man". The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  12. ↑ Tournament of Bands Information Archive, Tournament of Bands, retrieved November 17, 2009
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