Fresno High Marching Band & Color Guard Open For The Fresno Grizzlies'
by: Vanessa Flores
Look out for the Fresno High Warrior Marching Band as they make their way to performances on the baseball field. The Fresno Grizzlies, Fresno’s local semi-professional baseball team provided the Fresno High Marching Band with an exciting offer, an opportunity that had never been offered before.
The Fresno High Marching Band and Color Guard under the direction of Corey Reynolds, uses any opportunity they can to represent the school and city of Fresno. They are involved not only with important school events but important city events such as parades. The Fresno High Marching Band takes pride in what they do, and to be the best they can be, they work every day from 7:30 am – 9:27am as well as on Tuesdays 4 pm-8 pm. They put in hard work and effort to make sure their performances and music get people’s attention and appreciation.
The month of October and half of November are considered “marching season.” The hard work they spend months preparing is shown off and scored in competitions. Fresno High has one of the only bands in the district to do both field competitions and parade competitions.
Aside from competitions, Fresno High also plays music at FHS football games, concerts, Open House and for stores/companies that are willing to help them play some music for audiences and get some fundraiser money at the same time. Such as, they make their ways to fundraisers to places such as McDonalds, DD’s, the FHS Historic Home Tour, and more. This is where they cannot only get more practice for themselves, they can also play pleasant music for the community of Fresno.
Students, staff, and community can catch a performance at football games. While the game goes on, FHSWMB shows their support in the stands, cheering for the player on field and by playing some fun tunes for everyone to enjoy. To get the game kicked off and ready to start, the band will open by marching on the field and presenting the National Anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner.
Similar to the football games, when the group was invited to perform the National Anthem for the Fresno Grizzlies' game on September 9, it was an offer they could not pass up. The Star-Spangled Banner is a piece the band has become familiar with performing in front of audiences. Performing at the Grizzlies’ game raised the bar; there were so many more spectators. Prior to the game, the band was taken behind the field where they were able to warm up. They made their way onto the field in an arch ready to get the game kicked off. Once the performance was completed, they made their way to their seats to enjoy the game while having fun with their family and friends who helped support them.
