DHS Marching Band has a storied legacy, but there's still room for a first. Read on.

DARTMOUTH — Anyone pulling up to Dartmouth High as early as 5:30 p.m. last Thursday would have been welcomed by ticking metronomes and the sounds of practicing marching band members. And while the set-up equipment, sheet music and relentless instrumental drilling may have suggested a session already in full swing, officially, the 6 p.m. practice was still 30 minutes away.

"They're excited to get here early and do the extra work. They know there's a payoff," said DHS Music Director Ian Flint.

This year, the payoff is a special one: a trip to Indianapolis, IN to compete in the Bands of America (BOA) Grand National Championships, Nov. 9-11. The large-scale competition, touted as "America's premiere national marching band event," will have Dartmouth High facing off against roughly 90 other bands that are among the most competitive in the country.

In other words, it's kind of a big deal.

"It's groups from all over — a lot of bands from the midwest, Texas, Florida.... There's not many from New England," Flint said, noting program leaders decided to enter the competition this year based on the level of readiness students have displayed. "We'll be the second band to go from New England in almost 20 years."

Taking it to the street

The DHS Marching Band's performance will be themed after the visual artwork of the famed anonymous street artist known as "Banksy," as they play a modernized version of the 1874 piano suite "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. The performance will also incorporate an "outdoor urban artist," Flint said.

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"It's a classical piece about an art gallery," he said of the music selection. "What we did is convert the music into what it would sound like as a modern version, with urban sounds and all kinds of hip-hop themes.

"It's not just about graffiti — this is a statement about art. Banksy does his art in public, so it's for everybody. That's kind of what this show is about."

How does the Grand Nationals competition work?

Over its three days, the Grand National Championships is comprised of preliminary, semi-final and final rounds, where bands will be scored by judges' panels in categories like individual and ensemble music performance, visual performance, and "music general effect."

"It's based upon a rubric and we know how that works so there's certain things when we design the show we put in to score well," Flint said. "Some of it is very standard ... but then a lot of it is creativity, too. You're rewarded for doing things that are different from the other groups."

First thing's first: 'Extra effort' needed for planning, fundraising

But before heading to Indianapolis, they'll need to make a trip to Rutgers University in New Jersey for BOA's regional competition on Oct. 28 as a prerequisite. Not to mention all the fundraising and planning involved with making it all possible.

"It's a 16-hour bus drive [to Indianapolis] so it's a lot of logistics we're dealing with right now, hotel arrangements to think about, and it's expensive. We always try to keep the program affordable for students so that's a major factor," Flint said. "This year it'll take a little extra effort by the whole program to fundraise $20,000-$30,000."

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Flint said those efforts include a donor campaign launched last week and some home field performances. (See below.)

Size doesn't matter

While facing the 90-some odd other bands at Grand Nationals, Dartmouth High will be going up against groups that boast much larger numbers, Flint said. But what DHS lacks in size, they plan to make up for in quality.

"We're considered a small school in the competition. We have 92 students in our group. Some of the bands will have 300-350 kids each. Most of the groups we see out there are going to have at least 150," Flint said. "Having more students can be an advantage because it's louder and it generates a lot of intensity, but the quality of the playing is what's going to matter.

"For us it's just making sure the production value is top notch and having little more props, a little more production to make sure we're ready for a big stadium like that."

Excitement building at Dartmouth High

Meanwhile, at last week's practice, students drilled through the three-hour time slot — not counting the unofficial early practice time — learning roughly 45 seconds of the nine-minute performance, which is about standard, Flint said. And although they are still in the early stages of learning their intricate parts, band members say they and the school community look forward to Grand Nationals with optimism.

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"The show has a lot of potential and I can't wait to see it become what it's going to be," said DHS senior and Color Guard member Janessa Almada, 17. "It's different from anything we've ever done before. I'm a little nervous because we are going to the biggest competition we've ever done, but I'm really excited."

"Excitement at school is definitely high right now.... It's one of the biggest competitions we'll ever do," said DHS senior saxophone player Shubhan Swami, 17. "And nervousness can be a good thing because it shows that you really care about something. ... I focus on the excitement by focusing on how my notes sound."

"I'm really excited to compete at a level we've never competed before," said DHS junior clarinet player Sierra Arruda, 16. "A lot of the bands are bigger than us, but at the end of the day we're really confident in what we do no matter what we place."

How to support the band

To contribute to the current donor campaign, visit dsmahome.org and find the "DONATE NOW" link. "Spiritwear" clothing and apparel for sale in support of the DHS music program can also be found on the website.

The band will also play local shows on Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. and Oct. 14 at 5 p.m., at Dartmouth Memorial Stadium to benefit the program. Visit dsmahome.org for more information.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Dartmouth High Marching Band hungry for Grand Nationals competition