Nighthawks Marching Band

Brings Home First Place Trophy

On Saturday, October 20, the Newtown High School Marching Band and Color Guard put on an outstanding performance earning first place in competition with a score of 95.10 at Shelton High School. Nine bands competed in the event hosted by Shelton High School. Trailing Newtown in Class V competition was Masuk with a score of 93. Trumbull also had a strong finish with a score of 93.5 competing in Class IV.

Before the scores were announced, flutist Kristen Mulrane appeared confident. “I think we did really well,” Kristen said with a grin. “Mr. Dumas [band director] told us that our performance was the best so far this year, and he wouldn’t say that if he didn’t really believe it.”

According to the Musical Arts Conference (MAC) rankings, the Newtown High School Marching Band is in first place in its class, and first place overall regardless of class, out of 32 bands. Class designations are based on the number of band and color guard members. Other area bands in MAC Class V include Norwalk and Arlington (N.Y.). They are currently tied for second place with scores of 93.70.

Although Newtown competes primarily in MAC, the band will be traveling to Syracuse this weekend to perform in the New York State Field Band Conference Championships at the Carrier Dome.

“It will be a great experience for the kids. We’ll continue to set high goals and strive for excellence,” said Mr Dumas.