School Band Wins 2 Tournament Awards

The Moorpark High School Band & Color Guard, competing in its first championship competition, was a two-time winner last weekend.

In another tournament, the Lancer Band & Color Guard from Thousand Oaks High School brought home the highest music award.

The Moorpark band won trophies in the AAA category for high musical performance and visual effects at the tournament at Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo. The event was sponsored by the Marching Band Assn. of Southern California.

Under the direction of band leader Robert Hackett, the band placed second overall among bands with 80 to 100 members, only two points behind the first-place winner. The percussion line earned second and the color guard placed third.

To win the first-place trophy for musical performance, the Moorpark band played difficult pieces from Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”

“My staff and I are extremely proud of the hard work and dedication they put into this show,” Hackett said of his band members, who practice two hours every day.

At the 42nd Annual Arcadia Festival of Bands, the Thousand Oaks band tied Mt. Carmel High School of San Diego County for the highest music award. Overall, the 152-member Thousand Oaks band won third place at the competition.

Six of the Thousand Oaks band members will perform in the Tournament of Roses Honor Band on New Year’s Day.