Band Festival Performance Bittersweet for Dexter High School Seniors

WESTLAND — With friends and families cheering proudly, 15 Michigan high school marching bands took to the field at John Glenn High School in Westland for the 2011 Marching Band Festival on Monday.

The annual festival showcases area high school marching bands throughout Wayne, Washtenaw and Monroe counties, who perform several selections in front of a panel of judges throughout the afternoon. The judges focus on each band's marching technique, music and general effects and present each band with a score at the end of the night.

"None of the bands are competing against each other," said Kenneth Moore, band director. "This is an educational assessment to see what the judges think of each school's performance."

Dexter's 188-member band opened its performance with "Stayin Alive" from the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, followed by "Disco Inferno," "The Hustle," "How Deep Is Your Love" and "YMCA."

"It was a lot of fun seeing the variety of bands," Moore said. "I really enjoyed being able to watch some of the other performances. I think the kids did a fantastic job. I'm proud of them."

Senior Daniel Kesterson said he thought the performance went well.

"There's a little more pressure when you are performing in front of an audience that isn't just the home crowd," he said. "I think everything went well. I'm pretty sure no one messed up. It was the most fun we've ever had."

Cynthia Hodges of Dexter said her favorite part of the show was watching the kids "hustle" on the field.

"The performance was the best I've seen," she said. "I enjoy when they do 'The Hustle' because it brings me back to my youth."

Monday's festival—the final performance of the fall season—was bittersweet for Kesterson, along with other seniors such as Yasmeen Mansour and Taylor Marce, who have been part of the band program since the fifth grade.

"I'm definitely going to miss it," Mansour said. "It's like a big family and we have a lot of fun together."

The band will perform at Dexter's final football game of the regular season on Friday at 7 p.m. in Chelsea. It will also travel to Florida in March to perform at Disney World. For more information about the DHS band program, visit its website.