On October 12th, Selma High’s Black Bear Brigade won first place in the Western Band Association (WBA) Class 1A Preview of Champions at Washington Union High School. On November 16th, during the WBA Regional Championships that took place at Kingsburg High School, with a score of 75.875 they were crowned the 2024 WBA Class 1A Central Region Champions. This was the Black Bear Brigade’s third WBA 1A Central Region title in the last four years.
Sunday, November 24th, marked the end of the Field Show season for the band. The WBA Grand Championship finals took place in Fresno, at the Deran Koligian Stadium. This was the band’s first appearance in Grand Championships since 2019. In total, the band performed in four events.
Their performance, titled “Colors of Rebellion,” was produced by Selma High’s band directors Alexander Lima and Regina Jimenez.
“One of my greatest challenges is making sure that I have enough time to review our judge’s tapes, competition scores, rehearsal and competition recordings of the band, music, and drill charts, and feedback from staff and students to lesson plan effective rehearsals,” said Mr. Lima.
In preparation for the field shows, members attended a 7th-period class and several after-school rehearsals. The week before their performances, rehearsals took place every day.
“The mental grind has to be one of the most challenging aspects of preparation,” Mr. Lima said. “There is this constant drive to achieve the impossible perfect run. It fuels both the band staff and students through long, late-night rehearsals and off-the-field personal work.”
In this obligation, members needed to find balance in their hard work. They have to become skillful at adjusting to tight schedules.
“I would describe being in a band as a bit overwhelming, but as long as you have a good schedule it won’t be as bad,” said band senior Mikaia Orosco.
However, many members find the motivation to practice outside of school and practice hours.
“I go over all the changes and adjustments we made during practices to really retain everything and put it into the performance, and I also watch videos of drills and visuals to not forget anything,” Orosco added, “And I mentally prepare before every performance.”
Although the team faced many difficulties in their journey, their performance remained unaffected.
“This has been a very hard year for many reasons with challenges on and off the field,” Lima admitted. “That said, our design team created a great show for the band and the kids seem to have a blast performing it.”
According to the director, both judges and audiences also appreciated what Selma put out on the field this year.
“Individually, my performances have felt really good. As a group, our performances were always great in my opinion. I’d say we all put in the hard work and it really showed at the competitions.” commented band senior Felix Meza.
Among members, many believe this year has become one of the best.
“Our performances this year have been phenomenal, with everyone’s hard work it has really put the show together and it’s been great,” Orosco said.
Directors hope that students will carry the standards and expectations of the band program into their other classes and their personal lives.
“I personally love watching the kids take an idea their staff had and making it their own.” Lima said.
Ultimately, the effort of the band was not all for the purpose of winning. Their commitment and work served to strengthen and build on their experience. To the band, success and achievement are not exclusively gained through victories.
“If we do get first then that’s great but that’s not what we care about. At the end of the day, we all are here to have fun and make memories whether we win or lose,” said Viktorya Chavez Diaz, a colorguard performer.
With the end of the field show, the performers have shifted their focus to the Winter Season. Preparations for their next performances have begun, and the group hopes to continue producing effective performances.
