Del Norte marching band getting ready for competitions

An Arabian nights themed show awaits those who watch Del Norte High’s marching band at upcoming football games and competitions.

Director Jennifer Kitelinger said the 115 musicians and color guard members will be performing their “Silk Road” show this year. The almost eight-minute show consists of three pieces, “Scheherazade,” Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” and “Bacchanale” from “Sampson and Delilah.”

“I’ve always wanted to do Duke Ellington’s ‘Caravan’ and ‘Bacchanale’ in a show,” Kitelinger said. “That combination is not new, because several arrangers have put them together. But this is a new arrangement for this year.”

She said “Caravan” is a jazz tune while the other two selections have a Middle Eastern feel. For that reason, the color guard members will be wearing Arabian-style costumes. There is also the possibility that the band will perform with a backdrop that features camel silhouettes.

Its first home football game performance will be on Aug. 26, when Del Norte hosts Carlsbad High.

Del Norte will get an early idea of how judges view its field show when it hosts a band clinic next month where shows-in-progress will be evaluated. Its competitive season at the 4A level — where it has been for the past few years based on its size — will include the Rancho Bernardo Field Tournament on Oct. 8 and the Mt. Carmel Tournament of Bands on Oct. 29. The competitive season — at least six tournaments will be entered — will conclude with the championship contest before Thanksgiving.

She said the band could decide to move up a level in the future, but once it does cannot go back down, which is why for now it is staying at 4A. Last year the band “did amazing” in tournaments and it was “by far our most successful season,” Kitelinger said.

“We had scores in the 80s, for which we were very excited because before that we had been in the 70s,” she said. “We got third place in the finals, which was huge for (us). So we want to take that momentum and keep moving forward.”

While Mt. Carmel’s tournament includes field and parade competitions, Kitelinger said Del Norte will only compete with its field show since it never enters parade contests.

“We don’t do parade because it’s not a tradition I grew up with,” she said. “It does not spark my excitement and my students are in so many other activities that it is hard to schedule more rehearsals.”

Even though the band does not enter parade competitions, that does not mean it never marches in local parades. It performed last month in Rancho Bernardo’s Spirit of the Fourth parade and will march again during the Poway Days parade on Sept. 10.

Kitelinger said during these parades the band typically plays its school fight song and patriotic music, both of which it can rehearse during the school day. Field show rehearsals often occur in the evening as well.