A group of Millbrook’s beloved Symphonic and Wind Ensemble Bands  was  invited personally to Washington D.C. to compete in the President’s Cup. They were up against different high school bands from all over.  The President’s Cup is an invitational for national bands, with the program bringing in  many young musicians to come and perform along with  the nation’s top military band performers. This is the most educational and inspiring performance for young band students. At this event, there were only four schools  including Millbrook.

 Fellow Cat Talk reporter, junior Sofia Burr Reynolds, explains how the band’s group was small compared to a lot of other bands that were also invited to compete. Band member sophomore Camryn  Stine says, “My mindset was more to have a good time and a good performance than to win. We were definitely the smaller band.” It’s not important how big the band is, as quantity doesn’t always mean quality. 

 To prepare for the competition Stine says, “I did my part as a member of the band and practiced my music to get it on an advanced level.” This is very important, because being a part of a band, it’s impossible to know how you  are going to sound if everyone practices at a different pace, but taking charge and practicing is the best way to improve. 

 Senior Jack Mulrooney explains the process of preparing for the President’s Cup: “The week before we left for Washington D.C, we had the opportunity to perform the same repertoire at MPA, which is a performance for a panel of judges. The judges recorded audio tapes of their feedback that we applied a few days before we left for our trip. Of course, everyone had put in lots of practice both individually and as an ensemble to accomplish this.”   The mindset of focusing on having a good time was definitely something that the band took into consideration.  Leading up to the president’s cup, Mulrooney said, “We were focused on making the most musical performance we could and really enjoying ourselves as we performed with these three other phenomenal bands from across the country. In our minds, we were not focused on winning the cup, although that certainly was a pleasant surprise!” 

 I asked the two to describe what they were feeling at that moment in three words, Stine said she felt shocked, excited, and awed, while Mulrooney said he felt joyful, excited ,and proud. “The President’s Cup was a success and Millbrook’s Wildcat community is extremely proud of the band’s accomplishment!”