Following an intense morning rehearsal on Saturday, the Chesterton Trojan Guard Marching Band traveled to Monticello, Indiana, to take part in the Twin Lakes High School “Spirit of the Lakes” band invitational.

The Trojan Guard received top honors in the Class A competition competing against 22 other bands during the six hour event with a final score of 77.45.

The second place trophy went to the Marching WildKats of Kokomo, Indiana who scored 73.90. Third place was captured by the Marching Broncos of Lafayette Jefferson High School with a score of 3.15, while fourth place went to the Wolfpack of Michigan City, and fifth place to Merrillville Band of Pirates with a score of 45.60.

The awards for Outstanding Visual Performance, and Outstanding Musical Performance went to the Trojan Guard. The high General Effect trophy ended up in a tie between the Chesterton Trojan Guard and the Lafayette Jefferson Broncos. The Outstanding Drum Major for the Class A competition went to Neil Hicks of the Trojan Guard.

Chesterton’s 2008 field show concept entitled, “Temptation, the Root of all Evil,” is a very entertaining and intriguing production to watch and the music is beautiful and at times, very powerful.

“We’re probably the smallest band in our class, but our shows always seem to be the biggest and most enjoyable productions of any of the bands that we compete against,” said Amy Borg, band parent of drummer Elliot Borg.

“The show represents a pretty big departure from the productions of recent years,” said Director Michael Scheiber. “We promised the kids a darker more dissonant show this year. It turned out to be not only a crowd and judges’ favorite, but a show our students love to perform as well.”

The Trojan Guard travels back to Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana this next weekend to take part in the Indiana State School Music Association’s (ISSMA) district level competition. This event represents the first of three competitions that bands must take part in if they hope to secure a position as an ISSMA State Championship Finalist in Lukas Oil Stadium on Saturday, November 1. The CHS band is scheduled to perform at 3:07 p.m. EST.

The Trojan Guard will also be hosting the ISSMA Northern Marching Band Regional competition on Saturday, October 18 here at Chesterton High School. This contest represents the second of the three State Championship qualifying events for marching bands around the state and it’s an event that acts as a sustaining fundraiser for the marching band program.

All Trojan Guard band alumni, parents of alumni, supporters, and community members interested in helping support the CHS band program are encouraged to contact the band staff by calling the CHS Music Dept. at 983-3730 ext. 7172.

Members of the 2008 Trojan Guard include: Michelle AmRein, Justin Appleman, Andrea Arndt, Lucas Baughman, Elijah Bell, Davis Benson, Allison Bodza, Elliot Borg, Mark Borowiak, Ursula Brown, Brianna Cole, Kaylie Collins, Brian Corder, Charlie Cross, Tori DeMoss, John Denfeld, Lea Dujmovich, Patrick English, Megan English, Christina Gault, Megan Gillespie, Ashley Gillespie, Rich Hardin, Jordan Harris, Alexander Hartney, Samantha Hickle, Haylea Himes, Roberto Hoppenrath, Harley Howard, Christopher Hughes, Mike Jankowicz, Sloan Jones, Nathanael Jones, Andrew Kay, Barbara Kubiszewski, Ryan Leeth, Stephanie Leeth, Mike Leopold, Bradley Levi, Sarah Ling, Elena Lutze, Cassandra Marx, Declan McNicholas, Brian Moore, Jacob Mueller, Matt Ols, Anna Pesut, Mavric Price, Jake Pullins, Aidan Quealy, Erin Rebus, Anna Rinchak, Cate Rinchak, D.J. Rizer, Julia Roldan, Melinda Ross, Max Sangerman, Brittany Seay, Allie Sexton, Lydia Steciuch, Lindsey Stewart, Clay Thomas, Eva Thomas, Brianna Valdez, Charity Vallangeon, John Vallangeon, Katherine Vallangeon, Justine Vogie, Patrick Weaver, Breanna White, Matthew Wineland, Nicholas Wineland, Allison Witek.

The Drum Major for the Trojan Guard is Neil Hicks.

The directors of the Trojan Guard are Michael Scheiber and Vincent Arizzi. Additional staff includes color guard directors Lisa Scheiber and Nicole Krance, Jeff Wroblewski in visual design, Jeff Williams as the visual technician.

Posted 9/30/2008