Another Rainy March on the Brandywine

The only certainties in life are death, taxes, and poor weather on the day of March on the Brandywine. This year's October 11 event was no different from the last three years, featuring constant rainfall for the entirety of the event. But besides the unfortunate weather, the March on the Brandywine demonstrated the quintessence of a high school band: a strong competitive field and a pool of the friendliest and most talented music ensembles and color guards. Every year, March on the Brandywine serves as Unionville's opportunity to provide a platform for other bands to perform and gain fundraising for their own season.

Junior Andy Zhang described the competition as "the perfect balance of competition and community that also gives students an incredible chance to connect with musicians from other schools who share the same interests."

For sophomore Kush Aggarwal, the best part of the event was guiding other bands on tours of the high school campus, all while discussing their shared passion of marching band. "Their dedication to what they do was prevalent during their actual show on the field,” he said.

Teams are scored and ranked based on the following criteria: music, visual design, effect, percussion, auxiliary (colorguard), and overall presentation. As each section was evaluated independently from each other, West Chester East, Rustin, Avon Grove, and Downingtown West were all crowned victors. Unfortunately, as per UHS's own rules, Unionville was excluded from the competition, but still gave a performance unrelated to the final rankings. The UHS Baritones dropped an impressive score of 82.8, which would have no doubt swept through the competition had it been evaluated.

The UHS Marching Band continues into the late season with only eight rehearsals and a dwindling number of competitions remaining.