Represented




 

 

The 5-0 Minnesota Vikings aren’t the only group to perform well at the new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Pipestone Area Marching Arrows had one of their best showings of the year there during the Youth in Music Marching Band Championships on Saturday, Oct. 8.

“The kids were excited to perform in there,” said Steve Olson, Arrows’ director. “We got on the field and everything just seemed to click.”

The Arrows earned the bronze medal for taking third place out of seven Class A bands. They also earned the caption award for best winds in their class.

“We were pretty excited about that,” said Tricia Nissen, 10th grade mellophone and French horn player. “We worked really hard on our music.”

Olson said it was probably the Arrows’ strongest performance of the year and the band’s strongest performance in recent years at the Youth in Music competition. He’s typically considered the Youth in Music competition more of an opportunity for the Arrows to gain experience and see new bands than a venue where they could earn an award due to the competition from larger cities. This year, however, the Arrows held their own against bands from Anoka, Andover, Farmington, Park Center, Coon Rapids and Eau Claire North.

“We were the only small-town band,” Olson said. “I thought we represented rural communities well.”

Nissen said “it felt pretty awesome” to outscore the bands from larger cities, particularly in light of the fact that the band had been struggling in recent weeks.

 [/caption] />Olson said there were some concerns among the marching bands about the acoustics in the new stadium, but that it proved to be a suitable place for a marching band
competition. It also provided some unique perspectives of the bands on the big screen, including overhead views not available anywhere else the Arrows have marched this
year.

“It was a great experience,” Olson said.

Olson said he told the band that he’s very proud of what they’ve accomplished this year and their improvement over the course of the season.

“I think we’re kind of late bloomers this season,” he said.

The Arrows will see if they can continue to improve as they compete at their final competition of the 2016 season Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Quad State Field Marching
Competition at the University of South Dakota’s DakotaDome in Vermillion. The Arrows are scheduled to take the field in Group III Open Class at 2 p.m.

Madison High School is the only other band in their class. Madison beat the Arrows earlier this year when the bands competed in the same class at the Tri-State Band Festival in Luverne. Nissen said she hopes the Arrows can end their season on a high note and best Madison this time around.

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