With all eyes on center stage, both the Diamond Bar High School Wind Ensemble and Choir Department excelled under the spotlight on their recent trips. Wind Ensemble took home first prize over the spring break, while Solitaire placed fifth and Marquis finished sixth last week in competitions.

On April 6, the DBHS Wind Ensemble placed first at the President’s Cup National Concert Band Invitational. The competition was held at the Hylton Performing Arts Center at George Mason University in Manassas, Virginia.

“I think as a whole, we worked really well as a team,” senior Rachel Kim said. “Once we stepped on the stage, I could feel the energy from everyone just really vibrating and as soon as we played the first note of our first piece, it really resonated throughout the hall.”

At the competition, Wind Ensemble performed “Shine” by Julie Giroux, “Bells for Stokowski” by Michael Daugherty and “Solid Men to the Front” by John Philip Sousa.

The Wind Ensemble students prepared for the competition through daily rehearsals. The students also performed in two festivals throughout the course of the year, held at UCLA and CSU Fullerton. DBHS band director Steven Acciani said  that the students participated at the festivals in preparation for the Invitational.

“We approach all of our rehearsals the same,” Acciani said. “The idea is to try to do the best we can to match the intent of the composer.”

Meanwhile, on April 14, the DBHS choir department competed in the John Burroughs Music Showcase at Burroughs High School in Burbank.

“For our last competition, it was a really fun experience for everyone,” senior Megan Mach said. “It was a good experience for us to watch a lot of other choirs and to close out the season on a good note.”

Solitaire performed their “New York” set, which included songs such as Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York” and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” Meanwhile, Marquis showcased their “Hercules” set, as they sang songs that were related to the movie’s theme, such as “Go The Distance” from the movie itself and “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back” by Shawn Mendes.

Earlier in the season, on March 24, Solitaire and Marquis both finished second at the Katella King of Champions competition.

“They have come a long way,” DBHS choir director Vince O’Connell said. “I’ve only been able to look at them for a month, but the strides they have made in that month are phenomenal.”

With competition season coming to a close, each Diamond Bar High School performing arts group has enjoyed  varying levels of success.

Dance finished their competition season strong, winning two state championships and placing in the Top 5 in all categories at the California Association of Dance/Drill Team Directors held in Long Beach.

Both Small Female Hip-Hop and Small Co-ed Hip-Hop won state championships. The girls’ group used throwback songs paired with a “hype” dance style while the co-ed group went with the theme of the “Magic School Bus,” using the theme song in the beginning before transitioning to hip-hop songs.

Prior to the Long Beach competition, the DBHS dance team competed at nationals in Florida at the Contest of Champions, as well as the West Coast Elite Dance at Esperanza High School.

“Each competition prepares them for the next one because we get feedback from the judges—we grow, we change, we progress—and that prepares us for the next one,” Simonson said.

Color guard also recently competed at Circuit Championships, with varsity winning in its division.

During competition season, the team competed at the WGI World Championships at Dayton, Ohio. Color guard performed to the theme “Red Riding Hood,” but from the perspective of the wolf.

Overall the team placed 21st, almost making it to the finals.

“I’m really proud because half of the team is new to varsity,” junior Nia Ignacio said. “It was kind of iffy at first, because there were so many new people, but in the end we had a really good season.”

In the music department, Drumline had a solid season, with World Line advancing to the finals round and placing in the Top 8 in the state.

Their show was about struggling with inner demons, fighting them and eventually conquering them.  

“We were still really close to a lot of the middle tier class of drumline and I think we can improve from next year,” junior Brenton Cai said.