CAPE CENTRAL TIGERS BAND TAKES THIRD AT ST. LOUIS FESTIVAL

Drum Major Sara Rutherford hugged band members in the practice room before the band took the field for its performance.

The Cape CentralHigh School marching band formed up outside of the Trans World Dome in downtown St. Louis Saturday to get ready for the Greater St. Louis Marching Band Festival.

The Cape Central High School Marching Tigers won third place in the Silver Division at the Greater St. Louis Marching Band Festival Saturday at the Trans World Dome.

Cape Central received 91.40 points behind Oakville's 92.40 and St. Charles West's 93.80 in the second largest division of the festival.

The Marching Tigers were among 48 prestigious bands competing at the festival. There were four divisions for the competition, and bands competed by size. Performance seedings were based on the previous year's placement, giving what band director Neil Casey called a definite advantage. Central performed ninth in a field of 12. It moved up a category this year because of the increase in band population. The band's second-place finish last year gave it a good seed for this year's competition."You want to go late so the judges will have something to compare to," said Casey. Two eight-member sets of nationally known judges are required to properly adjudicate the units. "The judges are top directors from colleges, high schools and drum corps," said Herbert Duncan, festival director. Duncan was instrumental in organizing the first festival held at Washington University with a field of eight bands. "There had been a parade and we thought, wouldn't it be nice if there was a contest for the bands," said Duncan. The field now stands at 48 for the competition, which runs all day.

Bands from Missouri, Illinois and one band from Tennessee competed Saturday. A band must make a formal application to be accepted for the competition, and there is a three-year period before a band is placed on the waiting list, which now contains eight bands."Once a band gets on, they stay," said Duncan, "otherwise they'd have at least a three-year wait before getting back in."Preparing for performances and competitions takes a lot of hard work. Practice begins in the summer and continues through the school year.

Central has one show they execute throughout the season. The show was written by a professional who writes shows for many bands across the state. "I try to convince the band to practice like they want to perform," said Casey. "Our band is well disciplined and receives instruction well," The dedication of band members allows Casey to work on fine-tuning their performances. "Sometimes a competition can be decided by 1/10 of a point on a 100-point scale," he said, "and competing is like trying to hit a moving target." Every band out there is working hard to improve.

The band members aren't the only ones who work hard preparing for performances. Central's booster club plays a vital role. The booster club is comprised of parents and "friends of the band." This energetic group helps with fund raisers, the care and distribution of uniforms, transportation of equipment and provides a feast for the band after performances."We couldn't do what we do without the boosters," said Casey.

The boosters were at the school early Saturday morning as the band prepared to leave. Someone special to the band such as a director, parent or sponsor is recognized at each performance. Buttons and stickers were being passed out to boost the band's spirit. Billy Keys and Darlene Allen were showcased Saturday.

Allen's daughter graduated last year, but she was back this year to help out. "Band kids are wonderful," she said. John and Julia Freeman were getting ready for their second trip to St. Louis with the band. "The look of accomplishment on their faces is what's important," said John Freeman.

Dan of Dan's Lock and Key doesn't have a student in the band but has been helping out since 1991. "All of them are my kids," he said. One of Dan's jobs is to see that all the equipment makes it on and off the field, and in a competition, time is of the essence. The clock starts ticking as soon as the band crosses the sideline. Set-up, performance and removal of equipment must be accomplished in 15 minutes. Things ran smoothly Saturday and the band left the field with 18 seconds to spare.

The bus parking lot across from the Dome was a bustle of activity Saturday as bands prepared for competition. Central boosters were busy taping cuffs and making last-minute touch-ups on shoes and hats to be sure everyone looked their best. The butterflies were beginning to surface in some members while others seemed perfectly at ease. Paul Hagler was busy kicking a hackey-sack around. "It helps the foot coordination when you're marching," he said with a grin.

For senior Katie McLain, Saturday's performance was her last competition. "It's kind of sad," she said. A bright spot though was that her brother Colin, a freshman, would also be in the performance. Each year a few freshmen are selected to be in the pit (percussion area).Marlena Hale was in the pit last year and back this year as a sophomore. "I'm a little bit excited," she said, "but not really nervous."Both Hale and Katie McLain felt the band had worked long and hard in preparation for the competition and should do well.

Andrew Rehbein, who before moving to Cape Girardeau, had played in one of the nation's top concert bands at his school in Phoenix, Ariz. He was accustomed to the hard work of preparing for competition. Rehbein plans to minor in music in college and is thankful for the marching experience. "I feel like I've had the best of both worlds now," he said.

The guard is the most visible group of the band. It's easy to tell if one of the neon flags flies in the wrong direction."A lot of pressure is put on the guard to perform. The girls put in more practice time than a typical band member," Casey said. Their appearance is also important. Booster mom Sue Ross was kept busy French braiding hair so the guard would look uniform.

The performance piece is divided into segments, and after a last-minute practice, it was show-time."It's a very intense 10-minutes," said Casey. "You have to listen, watch the conductor and know where you are on the field and where you're going. And sometimes this has to be done while you're marching backwards on your toes."Central's band is considered young this year, with more than half the members being sophomores. Casey was extremely pleased with their performance especially when the announcement came that Central had received first in marching performance, which meant that everyone had toes and noses up. Casey could tell the band had performed well. "We're peaking at the right time," he said. The St. Louis festival is the band's last competition for the year. It had been rained on at Poplar Bluff and Washington and rained out at Charleston."They finally got a chance to show what they could do," Casey said.

Casey Dodd, a junior, said marching on the Astroturf was different. His father, Ed Dodd, was mesmerized by the Dome itself."I'm a Rams fan," he said, "and when I saw the inside of the Dome I just gasped."Another special recognition was given to Cape Girardeau, but this time it wasn't for the band. The boosters had sold 560 tickets to Saturday's festival, which was almost twice as many as the next seller. For their efforts, Casey was presented with a marching band director's podium valued at $800."We may not have gotten first place, but we certainly received the biggest trophy," said Casey.

Don Burnes, public relations director for the festival, has been associated with it for 14 years. "It's really impressive to see such tremendous support for the band," he said.