Marching Band

The marching band performs the halftime show at all Varsity home football games, and travels with the football team whenever there is an away game. Games are generally on Friday and call time is usually around 5:30pm. (There may occasionally be earlier away games.) Marching season lasts as long as football season, including the playoffs, but generally ends in early December. The marching band also takes part in parades like the Santa Claus parade through the Manhattan Village Mall, and the Saint Patrick's day parade in March.

Marching band includes:

Summer Band

Summer band is a optional but highly recommended twice-weekly rehearsal that allows freshman and new band members to meet their sections and band leaders. It is also a basic introduction to marching and the marching band music.

Band Camp

Band camp is the mandatory week-long rehearsal, (week and a half for freshmen and band leaders), that leads the band into the school year. For those who attended summer band, it starts off as a review of the basic marching and playing techniques and is followed up by the more advanced methods, which eventually lead up to marching and playing the half time field show that takes place at every home game. At band camp, the students will receive the music they will play for all of marching season, (if they didn't already receive it in summer band), the halftime field show and drill, which are page by page instructions and diagrams of the half time field show. Because the band begins learning the halftime field show during band camp, it is vital that all students attend full-time, and that the commitment to join the band is at least for all of marching season. If for any reason your student cannot be at band camp, or cannot commit to the marching season, please contact the band leaders or Mr. Carlson immediately.

 Wind Ensemble

This is the top group at Mira Costa. In order to be in this group, you must know at least all 12 major scales, and have an advanced piece of audition literature to be played for the band director. Some members of this ensemble are also members of the symphony orchestra which is led by Chris Schwabe. There is a requirement to not only audition to get in but to re-audition every semester. The literature that is played in this ensemble is much more difficult than that of the concert band.

 Concert Band

Concert band is the basic level band that all band students enter during their first year at Mira Costa. No auditions are required for entry into this band, but they are preferred so that the band director will know everyone's personal strengths and weaknesses as a player. Most of the time spent in concert band during marching season will be rehearsing the halftime show and the marching band music, but that changes after the end of marching season in December. This class, like marching band, meets during Zero Period at 7:00 AM.

Jazz Band

The Jazz band is a small ensemble of approximately 20 students that plays a variety of jazz music from the 1920's to the modern age. Audition is required to get into this ensemble and generally there is a preference toward upper classmen, although it is still possible for freshmen to get in.

Color Guard

The Colorguard or “flag” guard is the visual effect of the Marching band. They add dance and color to the formations and movements of the marching band. The Colorguard is an integral part of the field show during marching season, but like the drumline, they compete as an ensemble as the Winterguard. Winterguard competitions usually start in late February.

Drumline

The drumline is part of the marching band for the entirety of the marching season, at which time they are the percussion section of the larger band. . The entire percussion section includes all drums, the mallet instruments like marimba and xylophone, and the smaller instruments like wood block, cow bell, etc... At the end of the season, the percussion section goes on to winter drumline, performing and competing with other percussion sections.

Orchestra

(info. to be posted)

Choir

(info. to be posted)