New Brighton, MN -- Marching Band Places Second at the Music of the Knight Marching Band Festival

The Farmington Tiger Marching Band (FTMB) traveled to the Irondale HS to compete in the Music of the Knight Marching Band Festival on Saturday, September 30. The ensemble gave a strong performance in the second of three competitive events this fall. 

In Class AA competition, Lakeville South took first place with a score of 82.025, Farmington was second with 78.725, and Waseca third at 75.550. Fourth place went to Cumberland HS, with a score of 73.250. 

Competitive field shows are adjudicated by a panel of six judges, who each focus on specific "captions" such as music execution, marching technique, color guard, and general artistic effect. 

According to Director Erin Holmes, "The band has really worked hard these past two weeks to develop our show to the next level. Our philosophy is to 'Beat Farmington' from every rehearsal, to game, to festival, and we sure did that these weeks. What is extra exciting is that we once again, beat our highest score we've ever received! Each festival has a different panel of judges that see the show for the first time. Each judge provides live commentary which is shared with the directors. After the Rosemount Festival, we took our comments from the judges and implemented a lot of change with all entities of the band. I was very pleased that we had a myriad of detailed comments to help our growth but also comments with praise."

Not only has the band been involved with their own competitions, they have also been active in the community with a football game this past Thursday and were featured on Twin Cities Live as a part of their "In Your Town" segment featuring the City of Farmington. Homecoming week begins this week on Monday as the band will perform their show "JACK" at both soccer games for Flood the Field, and some pep band music at Jam the Gym. Juniors and Seniors in the marching band will travel to BMS and DMS and perform for the 6-8th graders at lunch! The parade on Wednesday steps off at 6pm from Farmington Elementary School (see map below), and on Friday, of course, is the Pep Fest at FHS and the big Homecoming game against Edina! 

Associate Director Bradley Mariska was interviewed on TCL stating "the band works so well together and extremely hard with their common goal. Being an integral part of the community along with competitive marching is a perfect balance of opportunities to get better every day. It's so fun to see their energy, their smiles, and their passions shine through in all of the ways we promote community."

The band's next festival is Saturday, October 14 at US Bank Stadium for the Youth In Music State Championships. The Tigers will take the field in Class AAA. The festival begins at 7:15am, with the FTMB performing at 2:00pm. The competition is open to the public and all are welcome to attend. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.youthinmusic.org/yim-2023-tickets/