We are proud to salute the various marching bands in our area which did outstanding jobs Sunday to compete in the New York State Field Band State Championship competition at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.

Among local school districts competing in the Small School categories were New Hartford, who placed second with a score of 92.400; and Westmoreland also placed second in another small school category with a score of 86.750.

Rome Free Academy placed ninth in the large school competition with a score of 79.700.

These students work so hard to give the best performance possible. We owe them all a round of applause.

On a band-related subject, The RFA Marching Band resumed its tradition of hosting “The Community Show,” where — just before they embarked on their “Day at the Dome” to compete they gather at RFA Stadium, in full regalia.

All were welcome, free of charge, to celebrate the symphony and spectacle presented. The band honored its seniors and then performed the full program they prepared for the state competition. This year, the “Pride of the Knights” celebrates a decade of “Marching Band” tradition at RFA.

This summer, Stephen “Steve” Russell, a native upstate New Yorker, took the helm of the RFA Marching Band as its new director, rising into a season where the fate was unknown in these COVID times. Russell, Color Guard Director, Lindsay Mogle, and long-time music department leader, Jake Meiss, motivated students to come out for summer rehearsals, to join marching band, no experience required. It was a labor of love of music to simply refuse to let the program be another victim of the COVID pandemic.

To see more recent Daily Sentinel coverage of RFA’s trek leading up to the competition, visit: https://bit.ly/2ZGimiF

For more information on the Field Band competition, visit: https://nysfbc.org/