Marching Spartans take gold twice

The Color Guard members release a toss of their flags while members of the band play during a US Scholastic Band Association (USSBA) competition at Dartmouth High School on Oct. 13, where they won the division. COURTESY PHOTOS

The Oakmont-Overlook Marching Spartans received gold twice during the past weekend.

The Spartans took home first place when they competed in the New England States Championship, a USSBA sponsored competition, in New Britain, Conn. on Saturday, Oct. 27. The competition took place despite the rainstorm.

Bands from throughout New England competed and the Oakmont-Overlook band was named Massachusetts Champions and New England Champions in Division 3. The band is judged and scored on music, visual effects, as well as percussion and color guard performances.

This year's show is "The Witch and The Saint," which was arranged by Daniel Lutz and Brian McGonagle with the drill and the choreography designed by Jeff Bourque.

On Sunday, Oct. 28, the band took the field again in the 2007 Marching Band Finals sponsored by MICCA.

Members of the Oakmont-Overlook Marching Band finishes their performance at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) evaluation where they received a gold medal, which is the highest accolade awarded by the association.

The band took home a gold medal again as they earned top honors in the competition held at Crawly Stadium in Lowell.

These two gold medals were awarded on top of successes earlier in the season, when the Spartans won gold in three of their four competitions.

"Our field show is a work in progress," said marching band Director Kris DeMoura.

The group spends more than 10 hours a week practicing and fine tuning the performances.

Pinpoint accuracy, attention to detail, and musical perfection help keep the Spartans ahead of the competition, according to DeMoura.

The marching band is comprised of about 70 students from Oakmont Regional High and Overlook Middle schools.

A staff, including Joe Piedrafite, Joe McCarthy, Nick LaPete, James Verdone, Laurel Kelly and Doug Landry, worked on music and drill instruction with DeMoura.

Andrew Caouette is this year's percussion coordinator, Katrina Caouette is the front ensemble instructor and Erin Mitchell and Bethany Bourgault have served as the color guard instructors.

They have all gone the extra mile, according to DeMoura.