By Paige Dance | Copy Editor

  The Gabrielino High School Eagles Marching Regiment (GEMR) finished up football season and completed three competitions in preparation for the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association Championships tomorrow at Royal High School’s Stadium in Simi Valley. 

   This year’s marching regiment is led by Melissa Romero, the orchestra and band teacher, and seniors Alan Zhu, drum major. and drum captain Jacob Peña. The section leaders for clarinet and flute are seniors Evan Ho, Jaylynn Lopez, and Sydney Soohoo. 

   GEMR competed at three competitions this year: Chaffey Tournament on Oct. 23, Duarte Field Tournament on Nov. 11, and Rancho Buena Vista Tournament on Nov. 13. As the band placed in the top 12 in their division of 1a, they are moving onto their championship round, where they have been finalists consecutively since 2016, excluding 2020 due to the pandemic.

   GEMR received first place in the Rancho Buena Vista Tournament, moving them into the top 12 out of 20 in their division, making it possible to move forward to the championships. 

   The Eagles started preparing for their season in the summer with GEMR camp, which started on Aug. 2. Their season is small and will conclude in late November, due to only performing at football games and having four competitions in total.

   “Before COVID, we had more performances, we had more things to do,” stated Peña. “Now, everyone is taking precautions because of COVID, we have less performances.”

   Coming back from COVID-19, the band has to take many precautions in order to stay safe, such as wearing masks when able to and spacing out, which is made possible due to the band being smaller in size this year. The marching regiment consists of 16 marching band members and eight members of color guard.

   “We haven’t really played in a group since 2019. So it’s different when we’re at home and we’re playing,” said Peña, concerning the band’s seasons in and out of the pandemic.

   Members of the band had to play isolated at home during quarantine, which is difficult due to the lack of feedback that one gets while playing in person. 

   Seniors and juniors are the only members that have previous experience in GEMR, as the sophomore and freshman are coming onto campus for the first time this year. This posed a challenge as there were so many newcomers versus returners, however Peña felt as though the team adapted rather quickly this year. 

   “Now, [because] everyone is taking precautions because of COVID, we have less performances.”

   Coming back from COVID-19, the band has to take many precautions in order to stay safe, such as wearing masks when able to and spacing out, which is made possible due to the band being smaller in size this year. The marching regiment consists of 16 marching band members and eight members of color guard.

   “We haven’t really played in a group since 2019. So it’s different when we’re at home and we’re playing,” said Peña, concerning the band’s seasons in and out of the pandemic.

   Members of the band had to play isolated at home during quarantine, which is difficult due to the lack of feedback that one gets while playing in person. 

   Seniors and juniors are the only members that have previous experience in GEMR, as the sophomores and freshmen are coming onto campus for the first time this year. This posed a challenge, with so many newcomers versus returners, however, Peña felt as though the team adapted quickly and is doing well.