Members of the award-winning Desert Ridge High School Marching Band will be heading to Hawaii in the coming weeks to take part in a Pearl Harbor Day parade.
Under the direction of band director Stephanie Campbell, the band was selected to represent Arizona in the Pearl Harbor Day parade. Each year, a representative band from each of the states which had a ship moored at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 is chosen to attend. Desert Ridge High School band was chosen to represent the battleship USS Arizona, which was sunk during the attack.
The band has enjoyed a great deal of success in the 2013 marching season. They won 3rd place in the state at the Arizona State Marching Festival on November 16, and received the special caption for music. At another state competition in early November, the band earned a Superior award with distinction, and special captions for Auxiliary, General Effect, Musical Performance, Percussion, and Visual Performance.
The Marching Band is not the only musical group at Desert Ridge. The band programs include the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble, which has more advanced music. The program also includes a Jazz Band.
Stephanie Campbell has been directing the bands program at Desert Ridge High School since the school opened in 2002. She graduated from both ASU and NAU.
The band also has been getting a lot of playing time performing at home football games at Desert Ridge, where the football team is ranked #4 in the state, which allowed for quite a few home games stretching into the postseason.
The trip costs each student approximately $2,000 for airfare, lodging, and fees. There are 92 members of the band.
Donations to the band are tax-deductible. For more information on how you can support the DRHS Marching Band, visit www.desertridgebands.org.
