On Saturday, October 13, the West Milford Highlander Band competed and performed in two competitions, one at the MetLife Stadium and the second, that evening, at Randolph High School.

            The annual competition at MetLife Stadium is the Yamaha Cup, which is sponsored by USBands.  There were a total of 55 bands performing in this full day event.  The Highlanders competed in a group against eight other bands. At the end of the competition they were rewarded with second place in their division with a score of 81.962 and awarded with Best Percussion and Best Music.

            Sara Donnamaria, one of the drum majors, said “I wasn’t nervous at all. I was so excited. As soon as we stepped onto the turf, I got the biggest rush ever and realized where I was standing. I will admit though, when I got onto the podium, started conducting, and saw Lindsay on the jumbotron, I suddenly felt nervous when I didn’t think I would be. After about thirty seconds, I was concentrating too much to be nervous. I thought that that performance was the best up until that point. The music was unbelievable and it never sounded that great when we were practicing. I honestly didn’t expect us to do as good as we did. When we were done with our show and marched off the field, I legitimately felt like crying, because the show was that amazing. And when Dr. Mac told us how great it was, it confirmed what I was feeling. All our hard work paid off and I am so proud of each member of the band.”

            Missy Lang, another drum major, shared, “I wasn’t nervous until we got into the tunnel– then it hit me that we were actually about to perform there. From my point of view, it was our best show yet. I’m so proud of the band. After the show, I was so overwhelmed and excited that I couldn’t think of anything else.”

            Another band member stated, “Like Missy said, for me, waiting in the tunnel to march out onto the field was nerve-racking, but then when we started the show, there was a huge rush of adrenaline going through my body and nothing else mattered. That was the best I have ever played and marched; the feeling was exhilarating. Walking off the field, I had no regrets. I knew that I had done my best and I thought the band had also done its best. Seeing the results the next day showed that the band did do really well for our first year performing there.”

             The Highlander Band had performed beyond their own expectations and were rewarded accordingly so. At the end of that performance, band members were proud of their accomplishments and hoped that the rest of the day would go equally well.

            After traveling nearly an hour to Randolph, The Highlanders trundled back off the busses and into formation for a quick warm-up before their final performance of the day.

             Following an impressive entrance, the Highlanders miscued an early number, not a good sign in an event where timing is everything.  Luckily the musicians quickly pulled the song back together and went on to give an outstanding performance.

             “Because everyone was so happy about the job we did at MetLife, we were a little unfocused. The show got off to a rough start but we came through and ‘saved ourselves’ by finishing the rest of the show by doing an outstanding job,” Sara Donnamaria explained.

             Missy Lang added, “I thought the band had a great performance prior to Randolph at MetLife Stadium which got our energy high and pulled some of the band members out of the right mindset. We had a great show at Randolph; it just had a few concentration errors.”

            “We got off to rough start. One of the pipes malfunctioned and because of that the beginning of the first drill fell apart. We were not together, but in my opinion we brought it back in the second and third drill. We did have a long day and I do agree with Sara we were unfocused from being on the bus and performing at MetLife but we did bring it back and I think we deserved first,” stated another band member.

             Despite the bad start the Highlander Band experienced, determination brought back their performance with flying colors. Once again, they were well awarded for their performance.  The Highlanders brought home second place in their division, as well as Best Visual, Best Music, Best Guard, Best Percussion, and Best Overall Effect. They also garnered Best Overall Visual, Best Overall Percussion, and Best Overall Music.

             Congratulations to the Highlander Band for their fantastic achievements.