High school bands show off their skills at Rougher Village

Oct. 27—Rougher Regiment band members lunged, leaned and knelt on the football field as the wolf chased Red Riding Hood around wooden trees.

This is not the halftime performance that Muskogee High School Band Director Mike Sisco grew up with.

"When I was at Union High School, there were four-man squads, and we did four-man drills and pinwheels and gates," he recalled. "It was neat to watch, but there wasn't a big production with all the props and theme shows."

Eleven 6A and 5A high school bands brought out their big productions at the Region East Instrumental marching competition Wednesday at the MHS Rougher Village stadium. Their shows featured a diversity of themes.

Members of Tahlequah High School's Orange Express wore torn black vests with metal studs.

"It's a rebel theme," senior Evynn Stevens said. "We're supposed to look punk and edgy. We've got songs from Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Johnny Cash."

The Pride of Pryor had a wild west show, playing themes from "The Lone Ranger" and "The Magnificent Seven." Band members wore red bandanas and cowboy hats.

The Pride of McAlester had set pieces that reflected a cityscape.

Sisco said he designed the Rougher Regiment show, "Under the Red Hood."

The show, which includes Radiohead's "Creep" and Imagine Dragon's "Natural," presents a unique twist on the Little Red Riding Hood story.

"The guy that actually designed our props — Mr. Price, our fine arts director — built the frames," Sisco said. "The big screen and the flags were all done by the same guy who did the Bluecoats, who got second place in DCI this year. Literally, the top-notch visual guy is doing our visuals."

The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps of Canton, Ohio, performed at the Drum Corps International competition.

However, beyond all the spectacle, musicianship remains the number one thing contest judges watch, Sisco said.

"The judges' sheet's going to have how your perform music individually and as an ensemble," he said. "Then it has effect. You also have the visual stuff, marching, individual performance. It's all got to come together."

Bands do not compete against each other at Regionals, Sisco said.

"This is for a rating," he said. "You get a superior rating (I) or an excellent rating (II)."

The marching score is part of an overall band grade toward Sweepstakes, awarded in the spring.

"If you make a I here, a Superior rating, that makes your eligible for Sweepstakes," Sisco said. "If you get a I in concert band and sight reading. And then, if you get a I in jazz as well, it's grouped together."

Band parents watched the groups perform. Candi Washington, whose daughter plays clarinet for the Rougher Regiment, said she has probably seen "Under the Red Hood" three times.

"They have gotten better and better," she said. "They won the competition in Iowa. I'm glad we're able to host it here."

Region East Instrumental 5A and 6A Marching Contest Scores

—Muskogee, II.

—Glenpool, I.

—Grove, I.

—Pryor, II.

—McAlester, I,

—Collinsville, I.

—Lawton MacArthur, II.

—Tahlequah, I.

—Bartlesville, I.

—Jenks, I.

—Owasso, I

Here is how area high school bands scored at Regional 2A-4A marching contests earlier this month:

Region Southeast Instrumental at McAlester

—Hilldale Crimson Vanguard, I.

—Checotah High School Band, I.

—Eufaula High School Band, I.

—Warner High School Band, I.

—Sequoyah-Tahlequah, II.

Region Northeast Instrumental at Oologah.

—Wagoner High School Band, I.

—Fort Gibson Royal Regiment, I.