Farmington Tiger Marching Band Sets New Record

The Farmington Tiger Marching Band (FTMB) had their first official field show performance at the home football game on Friday, September 8. A small group of musicians began the evening at the tailgating event which celebrated the FHS teachers, staff, and their families. From there, pregame began with the band welcoming the opposing team - playing a tune for their student section. Around the track to the home side, the band was greeted by a cheering section of Super Fans and the student body of FHS, dressed in the USA theme. A few pep tunes later, the drumline brings in the team, followed by the band, colorguard, cheerleaders, and dance team. 

"There is nothing like a Friday Night Lights event in Farmington", Associate Director of Bands, Bradley Mariska. It is truly a sight to see. I've taught in other schools and have never seen anything like this. Even eight years later, the energy is electrifying, knowing we all are there in community."

The first official performance of the season was successful for the band but didn't come without hiccups. Midway through the first movement the band lost power in the electronics which means all of the microphones and the synthesizer part went down. Not allowing anything to bring them down, the band persevered, the staff regained power, and they finished the show with strength, confidence, and pride.

According to Director Erin Holmes, "The band has really worked hard these past weeks to develop our show to the next level. Our philosophy is to 'Beat Farmington' from every rehearsal, to game, to festival, etc. This show is a game changer for us and with the dedication, laser focus, and the demand for excellence the students expect from themselves and the staff, they are bound to continue to 'Beat Farmington'. As a staff, we are so proud of their first halftime performance of the season, they executed the marching, music, and design of the show amazingly but what I'm the most proud of is they didn't let the hiccups that happened stop them. That mental focus is key to success. We are all so proud!"

On Saturday, September 16 the competitive part of the season began for the FTMB at the 31st Annual Rosemount High School Marching Band Festival. In Class AA competition, Lakeville South took first place with a score of 80.35, Waseca was second with 77.95, and the FTMB proudly took third at 77.8. Fourth place went to Brookings, with a score of 75.3. The band debuting their show "JACK" to an audience of marching bands was magical. Not only did the Farmington Tiger Marching Band take 3rd place, this was their highest competitive score achieved along with winning Outstanding Drum Major for the 3rd time in the band's history but FIRST time winning Outstanding Wind Section! Congratulations, Tigers! 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.