Band, Drill Team Win 10th Straight City Title

The San Fernando High School Marching Band and Drill Team won its 10th consecutive city championship last week.

The Tigers’ victory in Division I entitles the school to continue displaying the city championship banner next year at all games, parades and other performances, said Don Doyle, a music advisor for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“They are a small band but they are a powerful group,” said Doyle. “Musically, they were superior. In fact, they were superior in just about every way.”

Second place in the division was taken by Francis Polytechnic High School of Sun Valley.

Bands from 30 schools participated in the championship competition.

They were separated into four divisions according to the number of musicians in the groups, and judged in three categories: music, marching and maneuvering, plus general effect, which included the use of props and the band’s movements on the field, said Doyle.

San Fernando competed against seven other bands in Division I, the category for bands with the smallest number of performers.

The other first-place winners were Los Angeles High School, which won in Division II for the seventh consecutive year, Belmont High School in Division III and Garfield High School in Division IV.

San Fernando band director Richard Gigger said his band earned its reputation the old-fashioned way.

“The secret is work and dedication and always respecting our opponents,” said Gigger, who has headed the band for 15 years. “We don’t put ourselves above anybody just because we won. Win or lose, all the kids put in the work.”