Marching to second place

The Marching Chargers from Orion High School placed second in their class at the 28th annual Metamora Parade and Field Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 11.

“Overall, the band did amazingly well,” director Josh Hahn said. “The Orion band did an incredible job Saturday, and I hope the kids are very proud and excited about all their hard work paying off.”

He praised the students for the extra effort they put into preparing for the contest.

“The kids stepped up in a huge way this year by memorizing their music,” Hahn said.

Schools were divided into five classes, with Orion in Class 2A. Their competition included Mt. Carmel, Oblong, ROWVA, Thornwood South Holland and LeRoy.

During the parade competition, the Orion band played “Pinball Wizard” from the rock opera “Tommy.”

The Chargers placed second among the six bands.

In the field show, the Orion band played “The Pit and the Pendulum.” They came in third.

Combining the scores from the parade contest and field show, the Chargers had enough points for second place.

Drum majors Alyssa Anderson and Annette Putnam accepted the trophy during the awards presentation on Saturday evening.

Two other Olympic Conference schools, Farmington and Rockridge, competed in Class 3A. 

If the Chargers had been in the same class, their score would have topped both the Farmers and the Rockets.

“It is a difficult task getting 70 kids to buy into working as a team and executing at a very high level all the time,” Hahn said. “That is what makes marching band unique. Every day you have to get better for the next.

“I could not be more proud to be the Orion schools’ band director, to work with kids everyday who have a drive to always achieve a high standard of excellence in music,” he continued. 

“It is great to see a school district that not only does sports well, but everything well,” Hahn concluded. 

Both the school and the community care about providing an education that produces well-rounded people who appreciate the fine arts, he said.

“My hope is that parents in Orion will continue to support the positive effects that music can have on their children, and keep their students enrolled in the music programs,” Hahn said.