Pitch perfect: Jenison hosts annual marching band tourney

JENISON — The sounds of brass and percussion rang out across Jenison on Saturday, as the 39th Annual Jenison Marching Band Invitational played out at the Jenison Wildcats David McKenzie Stadium.

"I grew up throughout high school in marching band, going to the Jenison Invitational, and it being a pretty iconic show to attend," Lauren Heiden said. "And it was always our favorite show of the year."

Heiden is one of the new assistant band directors at Jenison Public Schools. She and Tanner West joined the faculty earlier this year. Besides rehearsing daily with the band, Heiden led the charge on organizing the invitational this year.

"We've got an incredible team of volunteers, our committee, that does a lot of the legwork," Heiden said. "But anything that needs the director's seal of approval, that's what I am in charge of."

Jenison's invitational is split into two parts, a scholastic segment and a Michigan Competing Band Association segment. The larger bands compete and are ranked according to MCBA standards.

"That is a very competitive circuit," Heiden said.

The bands are scored on music, visuals, overall effect, and even get penalties if they take too long getting on or off the field. Four of the six judges are West Michigan band directors, but two of them were flown in from Texas.

The smaller, scholastic-segment bands are similarly judged, but according to Heiden, "they're really focused on creating a really educational experience for those students."

Heiden said that smaller schools especially enjoy Jenison's invitational because it's a rare chance for them to play in front of a large, supportive community. Some bands only have 30 to 40 students, compared to Jenison's 194-member band.

"So it's a big range of groups that come and attend our show," Heiden said.

Complete results for the MCBA portion of the event are available on their website, here.