By Michelle Doan, Centerspread Layout Manager

photo credit: Claudia Cheffs

After the successful marching season last year, with the show that combined “slow” and “fast,” “yellow” and “blue,” and swept the audience off their feet with break dancing during the drum solo, one question came to mind:

“How do you beat Fusion?”

Fountain Valley High School\’s prestigious Royal Regiment marching band has brought the answer with one word: “Cinematic.”

Instead of using traditional narration guides through the show, composer and pit ensemble instructor Ian Grom composed the new show music “Cinematic” that gives the feeling that you are actually in a cinema theatre watching a movie.

“We thought it was something no one had actually done before, so we\’re really excited about that,” says Grom. “I think it is a better show musically and a very exciting show to get to work with the kids. I believe it is going to be an excellent and a much better season than last year.”

Lately, the FV School District\’s elementary school music programs have been cut back. The FVHS\’ marching band, however, has kept its strength and even increased its numbes in colorguard and percussion. This year, FVRR tripled its number of colorguard and will be competing in 5A division, a section that they could not compete in last year because of fewer members.

For the two weeks of summer before the first week of school, the marching band attended band camp under the boiling sun and in the band room from early morning to near sundown. On Saturday, August 23, the last day of band camp, the band performed a preview of their show at the Fountain Valley Office Depot, one of their sponsors, and another preview on the back practice field of the school for the parents.

“On the first day of band camp, I felt like the winds came out on fire and they\’ve stayed on fire the entire band camp,” says assistant director Mark Irons. “The two performances we had [on August 23] were spectacular.”

Despite its honors and accolades, the marching band never stresses competition and is all about having fun and doing their best performance and rehearsals. Continuously raising the bar, the band hopes for another successful competition season in October.

And you can be sure it is bound to be cinematic.