Branson Band Wins Vahalla Championship

The Festival, held at the John F. Kennedy Stadium, in Springfield, Missouri, had 31 competing bands from all over southern Missouri.The bands, comprised of over 3,250 Student Musicians, Drum Majors, and Auxiliary Members, engaged in an exciting day long competition of marching precision, choreographed pageantry, and musical presentation.In the Preliminary Round, bands were divided into four “Classes,” A-D, according to the number of all playing band members, with A being the smallest and D the largest.Branson was assigned to Class “C.”

Out of the 31 bands starting the Preliminary Round only ten would make it to the Finals. The top band in each “Class” automatically qualified along with the next six highest scoring bands, regardless of Class.The Branson “Marching Pirate Band” won First Place in its Class to qualify for the Finals and also won best Soloist, Percussion, Winds, and Auxiliary (Color Guard) for its Class.

At 9:00 PM, immediately after an excellent performance by the Festivals two time Champion, the Kickapoo “Golden Arrow Band,” the Branson “Marching Pirate Band” took the field to perform their exciting, fast paced, and intricate performance of the “Rise and Fall of Rome,” by Keith Poulan.The pressure was on, but months of practice, and their individual dedication, and commitment paid off as the Branson Band responded to the challenge.The result is that, for the first time in its three year history, the Valhalla Marching Band Festival has a new champion, the Branson “Marching Pirate Band.”

When asked what he thought of the Bands performance Eric Matzat, the Director of the Branson High School Band, said “The results were such a great surprise.We didn’t know what to expect because this was our first public performance of the show. There is nothing like bringing a crowd of over 7,000 people to their feet.”And bring them to their feet they did!