Preparation & Focus
The ESHS Marching Band competed in 6 tournaments for the 2017 Marching season – all in California and all under the direction of Robert Soto.
For Mr. Soto’s second year as the band director, we were presented with a show entitled Reflections of Earth. The show was within a period of around nine minutes and consisted of three parts: the opener, the ballad, and the closer. Each time the band performed, the show was different for it was not truly complete until the last show.
Reflections of Earth was packed with exhilarating music and movements, put together by the band staff. Reflections of Earth was performed during the halftime shows of football games and in competitions.
Our band was in the 2A division because of the smaller amount of people. Our band had a little more than 70 musicians versus other groups having more than 200. Sure, the division we were in was small, but some were really good.
Two weeks before the school year starts, we have what’s called band camp. That was pretty much what threw us into shape for the coming season. It was 12 hours a day, five days a week. In that insanely long period of time, we do sectionals (practice with your section), basics block (work on marching technique), and PT. There was one good thing about band camp: it made school feel like nothing.