Raiders Marching Band wins NJ title

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Marching Band won its second straight Group 6A New Jersey State Championship at a U.S. Scholastic Band Association competition in Sayreville on the night of Oct. 27, 2007.

Here the band's trio of drum majors marches off with the championship banner.



The victory is a credit to the many long hours of hard work that all the band and color guard members have been putting in since "band camp" began in late August.

Christine has been playing flute for several years, in school music classes and the Park Middle School band. Now as a freshman at SPFHS she's been learning to play more difficult music, while marching in complex formations. The band's show this year, titled "Quest: Visions of a Dream" includes music from Man of la Mancha and the movie Zorro.

The band's competitive season wrapped up the night of Nov. 3 at a USSBA competition in Allentown, Pa., which featured bands from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. In Group 6A, the Raiders came in second, narrowly edged out by a band from Pennsbury, Pa.

The band will continue to play half-time shows at SPFHS football games through Thanksgiving.