The Marching Wildcats are the resident marching band here at RCHS. They consist of band and colorguard. Their duties are to cheer on our football team and provide a halftime show. They also appear in events like pep rallies and the Lexington Christmas Parade. Occasionally, they compete against other high schools from across the state of Virginia. On Sept. 17, 2022, the Marching Wildcats competed at Stuarts Draft in a district-level competition.

In Class 3-A, the Wildcats placed first in percussion. They placed second in GE, music, and Drum Major. The Marching Cats placed third in Colorguard/Visual. Overall, RCHS’s band placed second, which is pretty good for the first competition of the season.

GE’ stands for ‘general effect’. ‘Visual’ means how you present your performance. The drum major is the person who keeps everyone on tempo.

Both the more experienced  and the youngest players are satisfied with how it went. Freshman Maddie Lipscomb plays the trumpet. 

“… I think we did a good job with our music,” she said. 

Upperclassmen are happy with how the competition went, as well. 

 “The competition went well and was pretty fun. It was also an opportunity to see how we need to improve,”said Junior Ezra Kelland who plays the trumpet.

Miranda Fitzgerald, the Band teacher at RCHS, is the leader of the Marching Wildcats. She knows how the Marching Wildcats can improve.

 “Now that we have learned the whole show we are going to start cleaning. That means refining our footwork, increasing the musicality in our music, and adding in visuals,” said Ms. Fitzgerald.

Ms. Fitzgerald knows that all of these elements tell a story in the show. 

The Marching Band continues to compete throughout the year. The Marching Wildcats’ next event is a showcase against Parry McCluer High School, in Buena Vista, Virginia.