Spencer High School's Tiger marching band was recently rewarded for its hard work and efforts this season as they received a Division I rating for their performance at the Iowa High School Music Association's State Marching Band Contest, which was held on Saturday, Oct. 11 in Cherokee.

It was near-perfect marching conditions for the band as it performed selections from the world-renowned French Canadian circus troop, Cirque du Soleil's show entitled "La Nouba." The band is under the direction of Kurt Schwarck, who is assisted by director Janet Boyens and field commanders Alyssa Carlson, Morgan Kramer and Devin van Holsteijn. The Tiger color guard is under the direction and design of Diane Hrubes, and the Tiger drum line is under the direction of Paul Jepson.

Each group is judged on a five-division rating system, with Division I being a "superior" performance and a Division V being a "poor" performance. A panel of four judges critiqued each band for music execution, music general effect, marching and maneuvering execution, and marching and maneuvering general effect. The judges' scores are then combined for an overall rating. This marked the Spencer band's 11th Division I in the last 13 years.

SHS Band

"The group performed very well," Schwarck said. "I feel we grow a bit more with each year. We have a very solid freshman class of about 51 kids, and this was their very first marching season. With the help of our outstanding upperclassmen, the 'Esprit de Corps' of the group has dramatically changed over the last two years, making our rehearsals more effective. This translates into a higher level of performance. We hope everyone who knows a student in the group tells that person what a wonderful job they do, and how cool it is that they are a part of our program."