Band earns high ratings

— The Gravette High School Marching Band earned “Superior” and “Excellent” ratings at the Region VI Marching Assessment. The band, led by Drum Major Tucker Fornier, performed Tuesday, Oct. 23, in their annual Regional Marching Assessment. Their music for this year’s show was from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which is always a favorite.

“Although a young band with only 10 weeks of marching experience, the performance they delivered was outstanding!,” said Mike Johnson, Gravette High School band director. “I felt when we were in the ‘warm-up’ phase of the contest, that we were going to do fairly well. The weather was pretty nice,the wind was dying down, and I could tell the band was starting to catch the excitement.

“The beauty of a young band is that their enthusiasm is catching. The scary part of a young band is their nerves tend to getthe best of them at times because they are still in their ‘building confidence through performance’ stages. I couldn’t have been prouder for their hard work and early accomplishments.”

The band will be performing this Friday in Prairie Grove when the Gravette Lions take on the Prairie Grove Tigers. This is always a great matchup for both teams and bands alike. Gravette fans will be able to enjoy a good program, Johnson said.

News, Pages 12 on 10/31/2012