PHS suffers disappointment at Zia

STAFF WRITER

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The Portales High School Marching Band returned from the 39th annual Zia Marching Band Fiesta with some disappointment this year.

But they also returned with an idea of how they can strive for an even greater performance next time, according to students.

According to the New Mexico Pageant of Bands’ unofficial results for the competition, Portales was not one of the top 10 competing bands — Clovis, Canyon and La Cueva took first, second and third place at the competition, held at he University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Brianna Brooks, 16, a drum major and junior, took the experience as a lesson.

“I think we all learned some great things. We listened to the judges’ comments, so we really found what they were really looking for. They’re looking for more props and visuals, and we didn’t have that, but now we know that that’s what the judges are wanting,” Brooks said.

Senior saxophonist Samantha Espinoza, 17, said that the band’s critique “really helped us learn what we need to work on and what we have done correctly. They really said everything that Miss (PHS band Director Jennifer) Johnson has been saying: We need to keep our feet up, on our toes, straight knees.”

Having seen the band’s set from the day they began rehearsing, PHS Band Director Jennifer Johnson was proud of her students’ performance.

“The evolution of the show through the season, it’s been good to watch. The kids have taken it and owned it and really performed it well. There were some difficult segments of the show, and they did some unique marching and executed that marching very well,” she said.

According to Johnson, the intense preparation for the competition helped the students to perform at their peak.

“Preparing something to that level — to a competitive level — forces each student to dig down deep and pull out their best performance every time,” she said.

Tenor saxophonist Vanessa Gonzalez, 17, also a senior, said she was proud of the performance she and her peers gave.

“I feel like, overall, we were able to bond together the last couple of minutes before the performance. We really decided what we needed to do, and we got it done when we actually stepped onto the field,” she said.

Zia was special for Gonzalez, because it marked her last competitive marching performance as a high school student.

“It was leaving all the memories behind from freshman to senior year. Everything was just left on the field that day,” said Gonzalez.