Bands from throughout Southern California will be presenting their parade and field shows on Saturday during the 47th annual Mt. Carmel Tournament of Bands.
The event is billed as one of Southern California’s largest and oldest high school marching band competitions. It is also the only band tournament in San Diego County to offer a band review competition, according to its website.
“It is one of the best-kept entertainment secrets in San Diego,” said Steve Carpowich, a tournament spokesman who has had two children in Mt. Carmel’s Marching Sundevils. “If you’ve only seen the bands’ half-time shows at football games that is a small part of the picture.
“(Their field shows) are powerful, poignant artistry and athleticism. It is an incredible entertainment experience and there is an amazing skill level right in our backyard with these marching bands.”
Unlike at football games’ halftime shows, the crowd at field show tournaments falls silent and all their focus is on the musicians and color guard performing on the field, he said.
Del Norte Nighthawks, Poway High’s Emerald Brigade, Rancho Bernardo High’s Royal Regiment and Westview Gold will all be in the evening field show competition. As the host, Mt. Carmel’s Marching Sundevils will give exhibition performances in the parade review and evening field show.
There are 25 bands entered in the field shows that go from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 in Mt. Carmel’s Sundevil Stadium, 9550 Carmel Mountain Road in Rancho Peñasquitos. Each will present a field show of around 12 ½ minutes, Carpowich said.
“These student musicians present choreographed shows that are fun and dynamic, with the color guards tossing flags, rifles and sabres,” he said. “They are amazing performances that they put on, with the music and movements specially designed for each year and customized for each school.”
The morning competition has the Class 1A, 2A and 3A bands scheduled. Those in 1A are University City (9 a.m. performance), Steele Canyon (9:15 a.m.) and Hilltop (9:30 a.m.). The 2A bands are Canyon Hills (9:45 a.m.), Ramona (10 a.m.), Hoover (10:15 a.m.) Patrick Henry (10:30 a.m.) and Calexico (10:45 a.m.). The 3A contest starts with Castle Park (11:15 a.m.), followed by El Camino (11:30 a.m.), Oak Hills (11:45 a.m.) and ends with Santa Ana (noon).
The awards ceremony for the first three field show divisions will be held at 2 p.m.
A dozen bands will be participating in the Class 1A-6A parade review that will start with Mt. Carmel at 12:30 p.m., held in the school’s main parking lot and campus’ interior roadway. Spectators are welcome to line either side of the route, Carpowich said.
The Marching Sundevils will be followed in five-minute increments by Santiago-JV, Hilltop, Sonora, Patrick Henry, Calexico, Garey, Arcadia-JV, Bonita Vista, Olympian, Santiago and concluding the parade review will be Arcadia at 1:25 p.m.
The parade awards will be presented at 2:15 p.m.
The evening field show competition will begin with the 4A bands. They are Eastlake (3 p.m.), Vista (3:15 p.m.) and Bonita Vista (3:30 p.m.) The 5A contest has Fallbrook (4 p.m.), Poway (4:15 p.m.), Olympian (4:30 p.m.), Rancho Buena Vista (4:45 p.m.) and Westview (5 p.m.)
After a dinner break, the final group to compete will be the 6A bands. They are Del Norte (6 p.m.), Rancho Bernardo (6:15 p.m.), and Arcadia (6:30 p.m.) followed by Mt. Carmel’s exhibition at 6:45 p.m.
The U.S. Marine Corps’ 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band will give a special performance at 7 p.m. Then at 7:30 p.m. the bands that performed in the 4A-6A field shows will receive their awards.
General ission tickets will only be sold at the tournament’s ticket booth on Saturday. Tickets give access to both the morning and evening field shows and are required to see the awards ceremonies. General ission tickets are $15, while tickets for seniors, military and students are $12. They are free for children 5 and younger.
There is also a reserved seating option, which is the center seating in the stadium’s home side. They are $25 each, available in advance at tinyurl.com/MCHSband24 and at the tournament.
Tickets are not required to view the parade. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
The school’s parking lot will not be available for public parking during the tournament. Carpowich said spectators are welcome to park on streets throughout the surrounding neighborhood.
Proceeds from the tournament will fund Mt. Carmel’s instrumental music program throughout the year. This includes the marching band, orchestra, pit orchestra, jazz band, ensembles, pep band and color guard. This is the program’s biggest fundraiser each year.
According to Carpowich the program needs to fundraise for all expenses not covered by Poway Unified School District. Examples include equipment repair, instructors, transportation, uniforms and other equipment.
Over 5,000 attendees are expected throughout the event, a combination of performers, family , friends, fans of marching bands and alumni. He said alumni often attend because of the camaraderie formed during their years and the community created. He added that band gain skills that go far beyond music, such as resiliency and teamwork, which impacts them socially, academically and artistically.
“This is absolutely something the average person who has no connection with any of the bands will absolutely have a blast if coming to the show,” Carpowich said.
For details about the tournament, visit mchsmusic.org/tournament.
