Creston band back in the swing at Clarinda

CLARINDA – It was a stroke of luck that forecasted rain held off Saturday, allowing Creston middle and high school bands to compete at the 66th Annual Southwest Iowa Band Jamboree in Clarinda.

Creston High School band director Mike Peters said it’s been three years since the Panthers have been able to compete at the event as it was rained out in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down marching band competition in 2020.

At the band jamboree, Creston middle and high school bands shined among more than 2,000 students in 45 bands from Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. The Panthers’ high school band placed first in its 3A class in parade and field. Bridget Hopkins and Luke Tebbenkamp won ‘Outstanding Drum Major.’ The high school color guard, directed by Lisa Peters, won ‘Outstanding Color Guard.’ Creston’s middle school band, directed by Ryan Linke, won first place in Class II. Together, the high school band and color guard took the competition to another level by winning the Glenn Miller Trophy as “Best Overall Band.”

Bands are scored based on music performance, marching cleanliness and overall general affect.

“You have to be able to be good at parade and field to win this thing,” said Peters. “There’s individuals who are really good at field competition that can’t march parade, and vice versa. So to win this, you are good at both. That’s why I’m so proud of the kids. To win this trophy they had to do really well at both.”

CCHS band

During the competition, Creston’s high school band performed original compositions called “Dragon Hunt” by Randall Standridge in its show titled “Ferocious.” This year, the band is comprised of 73 members, which is less than previous years.

“I told the kids, you don’t have to be big, you have to be good,” said Peters. “There were bands there a lot bigger than us and we still beat them. I’m really proud of the kids I have.”

At the field performance, Peters said the Panther band handled a sound system malfunction like seasoned professionals, playing on.

“Some kids would freak out, but our kids just said, ‘We’re just going to go with it,’” he said. ‘It was great.”

CCMS band

For the 60 kids who make up Creston Middle School’s marching band and color guard, this year’s marching experience was a first.

Linke said he was proud of his students as it was a “struggle” to get back into the swing of things after a very non-traditional school year.

“We we got out of school early a couple months there at the start of the COVID pandemic. Coming back last year, being in masks all year, that definitely made things strange,” he said. “We didn’t even march last year because we knew everything was cancelled already.”

However, coming back this year, Linke said his students came ready to work.

“They put everything in to our rehearsals,” he said. “I can’t hand it to them enough. They were phenomenal.”

The middle school band performed the Billboard hit “Dance Monkey” by Tone and I.

“We like to do pop songs at the middle school level. It’s songs the kids know and they get excited,” said Linke. “And the crowd gets into it. The kids really feed off of it when the crowd is dancing or singing. That’s always really fun.”

Linke said the students who make up the middle school band have natural playing ability, so they spent the past few weeks focused on marching and making sure their feet were in time.

“We were just making sure everything looked really good because we already sounded really good,” he said.

Peters and Linke said they were moved by the experience and the outpouring of support from parents. Peters said, as he watched the results announced, he didn’t see celebration, he saw kids who put in hundreds of hours of hard work who realized what they what they had just achieved.

“After 32 years of teaching I just know something about moments like this,” he said. “They don’t happen very often. So sometimes you just have to sit back and watch the happiness. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the moment. I wish everyone could have seen what I saw at the moment Michael Jones said the words “Creston High School.” It was amazing.”

Peters said the big win for the Panther bands was a result of parents who got their kids up early for rehearsals each day and supported the band in a variety of ways, such as loading equipment, making sure they are fed and feeling full of pride.

“I saw a school and community that has always wanted a strong band program and are willing to support it,” he said. “I believe their faith in the program was confirmed.”

Up next

The CCHS marching band heads to Valley Fest this weekend, followed by the state competition next week.

Peters said the band is focused on scoring a Division I rating at state again. They have scored a Division I rating every year since 1989.

“This is just the beginning of the year. We have a ton of work still to do,” said Peters. “No time to get complacent, but this isn’t a bad way to start.”