PHOTO PROVIDED BY RWMABy CAROL LI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Royal Wilson Marching Alliance (RWMA) hosted the Golden State Field Classic (GFSC) competition on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Thirteen schools from Southern California attended GFSC, which allowed RWMA to boost their points in the championship ranking system while also raising funds for future competitions and expenses. Judges critiqued bands based on their visual and musical performance, as well as the color guard and percussion performance.
As the host, RWMA did not receive awards; however, their performance earned the band a score of 76.60.
According to band director Rich Torres, RWMA executed their performance successfully, despite the added pressures of organizing a home competition.
“This was the first time this year that [RWMA] performed the whole show in competition. [Although] the students had extra responsibilities since [Wilson] was hosting the tournament, they still did extremely well,” Torres said.
In addition, drum major senior Melanie Gandara explained the importance of GFSC in her band career.
“[In particular,] this competition made me feel like time passed by very quickly, since many people who attended the event thought that I was an alumni,” Gandara said. “My last time competing at [GSFC] was very bittersweet, but I am [looking forward] to what the future holds.”
Furthermore, sophomore member Wesley Zhou enjoyed participating in GFSC because it exhibited RWMA’s dedicated effort.
“[GFSC] was an interesting experience because I was able to interact with other schools and see the hard work our band put in pay off during our performance,” Zhou said.
RWMA will attend the Los Altos Field Tournament at Los Altos HS on Saturday, Nov. 2.