Roseburg High School

The Roseburg Marching Ensemble (RME) has had such a successful season, and they ended it on a great note. The band has worked so hard from the end of August to the beginning of November to bring us “Cruisin,” a show entirely based on the 1950s and 60s. The show included several parts of well-known songs, such as “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry and “The Longest Time” by Billy Joel.

The RME has performed at RHS varsity home football games, and had two performances of their own, Golden Arrow and Platinum Arrow, on August 28 and November 3, marking the opening and closing of the marching season. They also went to three competitions in Hillsboro and Grants Pass. They competed against 28 total bands in the NWAPA circuit from Oregon, southern Washington, and northern California, including Century Marching Band with the theme “Searching For Oasis,” Sherwood Marching Band with the theme “Passing The Torch,” and Grants Pass Marching Band with the theme “A Swan’s Song.” At the Hillsboro competition on September 27, the RME placed first out of 13 bands. They placed second out of 12 bands at the Pride of the Northwest competition in Grants Pass, along with the award for High Percussion and High General Effect, and at championships on November 1, they placed sixth in the 4A circuit, and eighth overall.

Some other things to note are that at the Pride of the Northwest competition, the RME was the only band to get a standing ovation from not just their section, but from the entire crowd. They also got the second highest score of all time, placing at 82.40. Their previous high score was last year’s, at 83.35. Now while they might not have gotten their highest score of all time, they did end up getting the highest ranking of all time, with fifth place overall in music, sixth in 4A, and eighth overall. This is the first time they’ve had a top 10 finish to their season!

The “Orange R” interviewed some band members (and Mr. Hansen) about their insight on the season. Mr. Hansen’s opinion on the season was, “Overall, I felt this was a very strong season for the marching band. The students worked very hard, made significant progress, and were super positive and productive throughout the entire season. This is one of the more enjoyable shows, and groups of students I've had the pleasure of working with while here at RHS.” Mellophone section leader Raiden Patio stated, “Being a section leader for the first time, I was really nervous, and worried I wasn’t going to do a good job, or people wouldn’t like me, but I think I did a pretty good job this year.” Drum major Ava Bryan’s take on the season was, “My favorite season has probably been this one, because of how well we did in terms of placement, and the individual progress of everybody. As a band, we’re strong together, because of those individual things we get better at that make us better as a whole, and I think that really shone through this season.” Drum major Samantha Senajon stated, “Being a returning drum major went really well this year, I had a really really strong team this year, we all got along, we were very close, we played Minecraft until like 4AM, and drum major watch parties, really fun, I had a close team, and we got a lot done.”First-year marcher Jaxton Gordon stated, “The ensemble did amazing. I feel like we definitely deserved a higher place, as the other band (Grants Pass) said as well, and I feel like we had a ton of fun.” Senior Idania (Indy) Morris shared, “I think this season went really well for me, I was in a new section this year, I went from flute to drumline, so I had my ups and downs for sure, but I think overall, it was a great season for me.” Flute player Tatyana (Ali) Lopez’s take on the season was, “I think the season went really well, it was definitely a little harder than last year’s, but I have enjoyed it, the show was really fun, there was a lot of really fun choreo, fun movements, and all of the music. I really enjoyed this year’s show.”

The “Orange R” also interviewed some non-band students who saw the show to get an audience perspective. Junior Dorian (Roman) Sherman stated, “When I watched the show this year, I particularly liked the drumline; they performed really well out there.” Freshman Jacob Morris thought “the show had a lot of movement and a lot of unique styles, in both the music and the performances that both the marching band and the colorguard was putting on. The music did give off the correct vibe that they were going for, and the show was extremely good.” “The show was very entertaining, I really liked it,” said junior Aaron Pike. “My favorite part was when the colorguard did their big toss at the end of the second movement.”

The band did incredible this year, and let’s hope that next year can be even better