Middletown HS marching band to make 20th consecutive state appearance

Oct. 28—For the 20th consecutive year, the Middletown High School marching band is competing in the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) State Finals.

The Middies will close out their season Saturday at Hilliard Bradley. The band is seeking its 11th straight state finals superior rating, said David Leisten, band director.

The band's contest show is entitled "The Twilight Zone" and is largely based on the main theme by Bernard Herrmann. The show follows a couple that checks into a hotel and enters "The Twilight Zone."

The couple encounters many creepy things but as the closing Rod Sterling-like voiceover says, "these two were lucky enough to escape..."

The band earned overall superior ratings at each of its last four regional contests that qualified them for OMEA State Finals, Leisten said.

He said throughout the season, the band received many awards. Last week at the Shawnee Band-O-Rama the band competed in a field of 16 and received Best Overall Color Guard, Best Overall Music, Best Overall Visual, Best Overall General Effect and won the Grand Champion award.

"This has been a really fun and hard-working group to direct," Leisten said. "They work really well as a team and have pushed really hard to achieve their success. We have an amazing group of students, staff and parent volunteers that make it happen."