Amador Valley High School Marching Band’s season wrapped up on Nov. 28 with the annual Friends and Family showcase. This year’s production, titled Bonjour, Bonjour, was an ode to France’s influence on music and art. The production marked one of the program’s most successful shows, earning scores.
“The show is meant to take you on a journey and show you snapshots of France. To incorporate that, we used French source music like ‘Complainte de la Butte’ and ‘An American in Paris’ and ‘La Vie en Rose.’ Of course, we have back drops showing French architecture, like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe,” said Drum Major Nicole Zhang (‘27).
Friends and Family allowed band programs across the East Bay to watch other programs, unite, and say goodbye to graduating seniors.
“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 Senior Drum Major Athrv Gupta (‘26)
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Celicia Thendean (’26) plays the piano for the duration of the game.
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The band looks to the drum major to keep time and stay in time.
Competitions give the band a unified goal to work towards. Over the season, the band puts in effort to put out the best performance possible.
“Before comp season, people are aware that the comps 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 Woodwind Captain Jayden Choi (‘26).
Scores and awards
Regardless of the scores, many band members 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 Junior Drum Major Silas Fell (‘27) Importance of the Program
Amador Valley’s band program is undoubtedly 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.
Hard work
Starting as far back as 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.
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All the sections of band and color guard work together to make a cohesive show.
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In addition to playing music, the band has choreography and formations to add to the show.
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Other bands had an opportunity to perform their showcase in a non-competitive environment.
In a program like Amador Valley’s Band Department, the greatest aspect is the variety just one show can have. The program is primarily divided into two aspects: the band (which hosts a variety of instruments) and the colorguard.
“Colorguard, to me, is the visual aid to help the band tell our story. Throughout the show, there were so many elements that were like a narrative, and it was beautiful to both hear, and see it, ” said Color Guard member Amelie Vergne (‘28).
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 them.
“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.
