Lakeland claims top-10 finish at state band event

Huron Valley Lakeland High School Marching Band members were among the top 10 competitors in the state at this year’s Michigan Competing Band Association’s (MCBA) Championship Contest at Ford Field.

The band — which has earned state championship titles four times and was a national championship semi-finalist in 1999 — finished 10th on Nov. 3 in the MCBA Flight 1 Championship competition. The state championship event is held each November and is one of the major competitions for bands, drawing competitors from throughout the state.

Last year, Lakeland took eighth-place at the state championships and was awarded the grand championship title at the West Bloomfield Invitational.

There are 68 members of the marching band — 40 who play wind instruments, two drum majors, 20 percussionists and six color guard members. Band Director Bob Green has overseen the Lakeland High School Marching Band for 17 years.

Lakeland was one of four lakes area marching bands that competed in this year’s MCBA championship and one of three that finished in the top 10.

The Walled Lake Central High School Marching Band finished fourth in the MCBA Flight 1 championship, while the West Bloomfield High School Marching Band took ninth-place.

While both the Lakeland band and the West Bloomfield band finished the competition with a final score of 74.8 points, Lakeland was awarded the tenth-place finish under MCBA tie-breaking rules.

According to the MCBA, ties are broken by looking at the highest music score (Music Individual, Music Ensemble, and Music GE). Lakeland had a score of 36.5 and West Bloomfield had a score of 37.30.

The Huron Valley Milford High School Marching Band placed 11th in the Flight 2 MCBA Championship.

A Nov. 21 article published in The Spinal Column Newsweekly failed to note Lakeland’s top-10 finish at the championship series.