Band competed and earned a rating of one, the highest rating, at the Central States Marching Festival that was held at Kansas State University Saturday, Oct. 22. At the competition, each band would participate in a clinic with members of the Kansas State University band and gain feedback and critiques. Then, the bands would compete for their ratings at the Kansas State University Bill Snyder Memorial Stadium. 38 bands competed in the Central States Marching Festival. 

Band director Deb Steiner explained how the band scored and performed during the Central States Marching Festival.

“We got an overall rating of one, which is superior and the best score you can earn in a competition,” Steiner said. “I think it was one of the band’s best performances, they all did a really good job that day. They sounded very powerful and had good dynamics.”

Senior Cassie Frias expressed her favorite and least favorite parts of the competition.

“My favorite part of the competition was being able to stay after our performance to watch and support other bands,” Frias said. “My least favorite part of the competition was having to leave so early, we had to leave Mill Valley at 6:50 am.”

Additionally, Steiner shared why she believes the clinic with the Kansas State University Marching Band helped members of the Mill Valley Band. 

“Having the clinic before is really valuable. It’s really good for the band to get to work with some college students and there was another director from South Dakota who had some great things to say about us,” Steiner said. “The clinic helped the band improve before they performed because it allowed them to practice in front of a crowd and make sure they knew what they were going to do during competition.”

Similarly to Steiner, Frias described why she thought that the clinic helped the band earn their rating of one.

“I loved having the clinic before the competition because it was a new experience for the band and was super helpful,” Frias said. “The clinic helped the band improve because it calmed our nerves and got the movement under our feet. It also was very helpful because we broke into sections with members of the Kansas State University Marching Band who were able to give us some easily fixed critiques.”