Each year, as the Amador Valley High School Marching Band concludes its season, the program finalizes with its last performance in a series of competitions: the Western Band Association (WBA) Band Championships. The event serves as a showcase for band programs across the East Bay to unite, gain insights into other programs, and receive scores reflecting their hours of effort.

This year’s production, titled Bonjour, Bonjour, was an ode to France’s influence on music and art. The show marked one of the program’s most successful, earning first place at the WBA Tournament, and sixth place at the WBA Grand Championships.

“The show is meant to take you on a journey and show you snapshots of France. To incorporate that, we used Frence source music like ‘Complainte de la Butte’ and ‘An American in Paris’ and ‘La Vie en Rose.’ Of course, we also have back drops showing French architecture, like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe,” said Nicole Zhang (‘27), Drum Major and Clarinet Player.

What Competitions Means to the Program 

Amador Valley’s band program ensures victory through practice. To participate, students attend three rehearsals throughout the week, not to mention the practices that happen before the season. Following countless hours of practice and rehearsals, competitions give the band a unified purpose to work towards. 

“Before competition season, people are aware that the competitions are what we work towards, but it can often feel like it’s a far away thing for the future, and not an immediate concern. Although the moment competitions start, that completely changes as people come to realize what exactly we’ve been working towards. That can really be a big motivator to improve because the goal and the end result becomes more tangible.” said Jayden Choi (‘26), Woodwind Captain. 

But beyond scores, many band members simply appreciate the effort put into the program. 

“Personally, I couldn’t care less about our scores or placements, but instead our upwards trajectory…it’s indicative of the massive growth as a program we’ve had on all fronts in rehearsal, leadership, and design,” said Silas Fell (‘27), Drum Major, Euphonium, and Bass Player.

Besides growing the program and earning recognitions, competitions also allow for students of the program to connect with nearby programs, taking away ideas to implement into their own marching band, and building community throughout the region.

“At the end of the day we’re all the same people—just separated geographically. It’s always wonderful to break the tension that can sometimes be created with our competitors. We support each other and are everyone’s biggest fans, and that’s a really lovely show of the band community as a whole!” said Athrv Gupta (‘26), Drum Major and Saxophone Player. 

Building the Path to Success

Amador Valley’s band program is undoubtably large. While this allows for more elaborate performances, it also requires greater preparation. To account for this, the program relies on the countless hours of help from the drum majors—student leaders who organize, direct, and communicate with the players. With their help, the program is able to perfect its performances before competitions even begin.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into making this possible—the design process started in November of last year! As senior drum majors, me and Emily started working in January, preparing for the selection of new drum majors and section leaders and discussing goals for next season. Our job is a macro-focus on the entire program, and so it’s important to start early,” said Gupta. 

Starting in May, the band decided to host their first workshops in preparation for their autumn show. Since then, students in the program have gone through intensive practices in preparation for their competitions. 

“We ensured every section held at least 3 sectionals over the summer to refine their marching and playing skills but also to build community. The season started in late July with band camp, an intensive week of ~50 hours of training to prepare us for the season ahead. During the school year, we have 3 rehearsals a week totaling about 12 hours!” said Gupta.

Overall, the past season marked significant growth for the program, which couldn’t be possible without the effort of the performers, as well as the performers who came before.

“It definitely felt like it was the culmination of everything the band learned from the past few seasons, and everything really came together to produce this outcome. I think that it is a really good indication of where our program can grow in the future,” said Choi.