ROCK 'N ROLL INTO MARCHING BAND

CCA MARCHING BAND STUDENTS DURING A COMPETITION; PHOTO BY GABI HENRIQUEZ

BOOM-BOOM-CLAP, BOOM-BOOM-CLAP! The Clear Creek Amana Clipper marching band is entering the field… wait, that's not what I meant to say, let's give that another go. The Clipper marching band last entered the field on October 24th, which was the last home football game, marking the official completion of their competitive marching band season. To say that this season was great is a complete understatement. This year, the band’s selected show theme was “Rhapsody of Rock”. To complement the theme they played the following, song one being a mix of “Toccata and Fugue” and ”Uprising” by Bach and Muse, song two being a mash up of “Nessun Dorma” and “Creep” by Puccini and Radiohead, and lastly song three incorporating “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Free Bird”, and “1812 Overture” by Queen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Tchaikovsky. In addition to this, some other new exciting information this year is the band's class classification. In previous years, the Clipper marching band has been classified under Class 3A, but as of this year, the band is now part of Class 4A, what a jump! Due to the marching band significantly growing in size, the band only had one choice, and that was to become a 4A marching band.

The marching band is led by drum majors Mackenzie Burnett (Senior), Alex Dubay (Junior), Liahna Malin (Junior), and Kieran Owings (Junior). All of the drum majors, along with band directors, parents, and more, play a vital role in the success of the band. One person who stood out this year was Clear Creek Amana senior Mackenzie Burnett. Burnett has been a part of the Clipper marching band for all four years of high school and became a drum major her junior year. With that being said, in the month of October, Burnett was given the honor of being the KCRG student of the month. This award truly emphasizes all that Burnett has and continues to do not only for our band but for others in life. On the basis of awards, let's march on over to the ones the marching band won during their competitive season. Some notable placings and awards the band received were a 3rd overall place at West Liberty High School, a division 1 at IHSMA State, and a 4th overall placement at Muscatine High School. While this does not seem to be much, it should be taken into consideration that this does not account for the close calls that some of the scores were. The marching band's color guard placed 2nd place multiple times at various competitions, receiving an impressive score of 90/100 at Muscatine High School, in one of their last performances.

Overall, the Clipper marching band did an outstanding job during their 2025 competitive season. This was their very first year being in Class 4A, a class that holds exceptional bands. This was a starting point for the band; as time goes on, the band will grow and continue to make immeasurable progress. With the marching band season at an end, there is only one thing left to say… “YAY BAND!”