Prospect band steps into second place

Prospect High School's Marching Knights delivered one of their best performances Saturday night, in the finals of the Bands of America Super Regional Marching Band Competition -- and they knew it.

They came off the field at The Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, in tears and hugging one another, knowing they had hit their stride at the right time, and given the crowd a special performance.

It was good enough to win second place, behind The Pride of Broken Arrow High School from Broken Arrow, Okla., last year's national champion.

"Any time you finish second to the defending national champion, that's a good place to be," said Chris Barnum, Prospect band director. "The kids performed just great."

They emerged as the top two bands among the final round of 14. Those finalists were chosen from the original field of 50 schools that traveled from 11 states for the two-day contest.

"Given the scope, this is a pretty big contest," Barnum said. "It's a big honor to do this well here, and it's something the kids should be proud of."

While Bands of America will hold its Grand National Contest next month in Indianapolis -- where Broken Arrow High School won its title last year -- Prospect will not compete.

One reason for this is cost, said Booster Club members. Every time the 180-member band travels on an overnight trip, it costs approximately $30,000.

They already have started fundraising for next school year's trip to London, where the Marching Knights will perform as part of the city's weeklong New Year's celebration. Shows will include gala concerts and a New Year's Day Parade.

Mostly, Barnum said, the Knights have performed in enough competitions this year.

As it was, Saturday night's performance was their fifth competition in the last six weeks, and their second top-five finish in a Bands of America regional. Earlier this fall, they finished fourth at regional competition in Oxford, Ohio.

Through it all, they continued to improve their show, called "Marching Metamorphosis," which features marches from masters like Sousa to Tchaikovsky, but presented in a more contemporary way.

"The music was fun and recognizable, with a lot of variety," Barnum says. "The kids loved playing it, because it never got stale or boring."