The Band To Beat The Central Valley Marching Band Is On A Drum Roll

The 146 students in Central Valley High School’s Marching Band won the championship at Portland’s Sunset Marching Band Classic musical festival last weekend. The week before, they won at Spokane’s Albi Stadium. The week before that, it was Tri-Cities.

Today, the CV band is in Everett, competing against 22 high school bands. If CV wins another grand sweepstakes, it will be a clean sweep for the season.

“Our band? We’ve never done that,” said trumpet player Chris Cargill, a senior.

Cargill, a teaching assistant in band, couldn’t put his finger on any one reason for the band’s success. “I honestly don’t know.”

It helps that the band has lots of seniors, with years of experience, he said.

The students also have shifted to a new band instructor this year. Kent Meredith took over the successful program built by Brad Constantine.

The band left Friday afternoon on a seven-hour bus ride to the West Side. They slept last night on the floor of a high school gymnasium.

Sound like fun?

“It’s actually one of the funnest parts,” Cargill said.

At Portland, the band took top honors in percussion, brass and woodwinds, color guard, music, visuals and general effect.

In all, CV captured 15 trophies.

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