ACHS hosts its first full band review
More than a dozen high school marching bands convened at American Canyon High School on Saturday, Nov. 8, marking the first time the school has hosted both the marching band parade and field show competition.
The annual event, called a “band review,” this year drew hundreds to the Wolf Den bleachers for a bustling day of friendly rivalry. It’s big for the local band and accompanying color guard, known as the Wolf Pack, Napa County’s only competitive marching band. The affair goes from early morning to late at night and feels like a celebration with intricate dance choreography and a soundtrack of booming brass, winds, strings and drums.
As ACHS made its way onto the Wolf Den football field for the field competition, senior LaChelle Bryson was all smiles. “It’s been a long day,” she said. “It was really hot, now it’s cold.”
Bryson, who is the woodwind captain, plays piccolo. “Right now, I am the highest pitched instrument. It’s fun, unless you lose your hearing,” she laughed.
The day started at 9:30 a.m. with four bands parading down Newell Drive, and ended with 13 bands competing in a field show, which ran from 5 to 9 p.m. Some came from as far away as Oregon, some as near as Fairfield for the annual competition.
“My life is so much more vibrant now because of the environment of marching band,” Bryson told the Current. Next year, she is likely off to New York City, where she plans to keep up with music.
“I’ve made so many new friends — people I probably wouldn’t have spoken to if I didn’t join. I’ve enjoyed these last three years with all of them. I’m glad that we’re all finishing this off together.”
Participating bands included Phoenix High School, John Swett High School, Woodside High School, Millennium High School, Pleasant Valley High School, Monte Vista High School, Terra Nova High School, Rancho Cotate High School, Del Oro High School, California High School, Rodriguez High School, American High School and American Canyon High School.
Each field performance had a storyline to steer the music and choreography — several schools went with heist themes accompanied by dramatic, eerie music. The Wolf Pack brought the audience down the rabbit hole in an Alice in Wonderland theme, with the conductor decked in Mad Hatter style coat and tails, players donning card suits on their arms and color guard dancers dressed as rabbits.
Band President Ruby Alim, whose son, Zachary, plays snare, said that the band review is special for kids and families alike. She loves “seeing the kids coming out here to enjoy and compete and all the smiles, and just watching all these kids from different cities.” In her mind, students deserve to showcase what they’ve learned over the years.
Alim has helped organize the band review every year since 2017 along with Brendan Day, the ACHS band teacher. This year, a number of local vendors came out, including McMatt’s Crafts, Crystalwood Crafts, Cute Kine Stuff, Little Shed Crafts and local favorite Tea J’s Boba truck parked out in front of the stadium.
American Canyon High School typically hosts just the parade portion of the competition. In the past, band members, family and friends would then commute to the 7,000-seat Napa Memorial Stadium for the field show, Alim said. It required a lot of extra coordination and carpool arrangements and meant less of a local audience.
This year, band coordinators felt it was time for a change. “We decided to make it an AC event,” said Brendan Day, the high school’s music teacher. It made the review especially meaningful to seniors, who will be moving on next year.
“You guys swept tonight,” said Nami Taheri, a judge and ACHS alumn, congratulating band members on the Wolf Den football field as trophies were presented to schools.
As the host school, American Canyon High School’s scores weren’t counted into the final tally . Nevertheless, according to judges’ final tallies, they scored highest in almost every category, bested only by Fairfield’s Rodriguez High School. Coming in third was Fremont’s American High School, among the biggest of the bands that competed.
Students’ enthusiasm for band has made parents vehement supporters of the annual review competition. It takes a full year to plan and coordinate the band review, thanks mostly to the grit and determination of band parents. While the Wolf Pack is part of the school, events like the band review are independent, funded mostly by the nonprofit American Canyon High School Wolfpack Music Inc., which is run by parents and families.
Steven Green, an alumni parent and band photographer, said that the marching band is an anchor for kids in their high school years. “The beautiful thing about the competitive program,” Green said, “is that it builds leadership, teamwork, athleticism, art and discipline.”
Over the years, marching bands from high schools around the county have quit competing. But, thanks to involved parents, ACHS is holding out.
“We’ve got a tradition of it,” said Green. “American Canyon parents are the parents on steroids. And we’re just not letting go of it.” Green’s son used to play flute in the Wolf Pack. He is now at California State University-Chico studying engineering.
“This program was everything to my son,” Green added. “That’s why it’s everything to me.”
The following weekend, Nov. 15, American Canyon High School’s Wolf Pack continued to triumph. The team won the sweepstakes trophy at Rodriguez High School in Fairfield, the top overall score for the field show, according to music teacher Brendan Day. They also took home first place in percussion, second in color guard, and fourth place for field conductor.
