The Lake Hamilton High School marching band, the Power Band of Arkansas, won its second consecutive 6A state championship Tuesday at the Arkansas Activities Association State Championship at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
"It's a huge sense of pride and accomplishment for the kids," band director Jon Shultz said.
"It has nothing to do with me. It shows what the kids have accomplished and their dedication and their fortitude and commitment to each other."
Shultz attributed the band's success to "the support of our administration and our community and our board of education, and most of all the children's commitment to hard work and discipline."
In addition to winning the championship, the band earned a first division band rating, as well as the awards for Outstanding Visual Performance and Outstanding Musical Performance in class 6A.
The band's eight-minute-long show program was titled "Where I Belong," and opened with John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads," continued with William Grant Still's "Animato," Michael Bublé's "Home" and closed with Michael Daugherty's "American Gothic."
The show's inspiration came from a January design meeting between Shultz, assistant directors Bryan Field, Jarrett Tedder, Ron McHone and Sara Field and other adjunct staff.
"It's actually a reflection of our community and we felt like it was a reflection of our students," Shultz said.
"The whole show was built around a quilt. A lot of kids, and even me and the staff, can relate because a lot of us have quilts at home that have been passed down. So that's kind of where the inspiration came from."
Last year's show was titled "The Midas Touch," and was "all about the story of King Midas," Shultz said.
This year's band is 171 students strong, with 31 seniors, five drum majors and 20 color guard members.
The band began rehearsing for this year's marching competition season with a camp in May, then daily rehearsals that began on July 15. Currently, the band rehearses daily during school, as well as three days a week after school for a total of about 12 hours of practice per week, Shultz said.
"It's not about motivation from year to year. It's about personal growth. It's about being better than you were before. That's the stuff we focus on. The band we're competing against is ourselves," Shultz said.
The band will depart Tuesday to compete in the Bands of America Grand National Championships in Indianapolis on Thursday, where over 100 bands are expected to vie for the national title.
Their performance will be livestreamed via http://www.flomarching.com and the FloSports mobile application for a fee.
This is not the band's first time at the competition, having attended four times previously, including last year, where they placed 12th in the nation in their classification.
"It's the best bands in the country. We just want to go give our best run of the season and have a great time," Shultz said.
The Power Band of Arkansas is also set to perform in the 2021 London New Year's Day Parade.
Local on 11/10/2019