The award-winning Richmond Hill High School Marching Band gave a preview of their upcoming performances to those gathered last Friday on the high school football practice field.

The band enjoyed several accomplishments last year, having been named the "Best Band Overall" at the East Georgia Marching Band Championships, and placing "First Out of State" at the Fiesta Flambeau Parade in San Antonio.

Band director Daniel Kiene said he is proud of the students. "They work incredibly hard for us and there are no discipline issues. Everybody is focused and moving in the same direction so that’s really awesome." 

Kiene said he is also appreciative of the school administration. "I’ve worked in many places and this is the only place I’d want to be because the administrators and our school board and our superintendent give us so much support.”

Marlon Smith has been instructing the RHHS color guard team for 16 years. “It’s all about being with the kids and just seeing them progress from being kids to being rookies to being vets and having a good time out here,” he said.

“They’re doing a lot of new things this year.  We’re doing a lot more ground work which we normally don’t do.  I have a relatively old guard, I only have three new kids, so I can be a little more difficult on them this year.  We’re doing 45 spins and tosses so it’s going to be a nice year,” Smith added.

This year the band will be performing Scheherazade 1001 Arabian Nights by Stan Phillips and Luke Aylsworth. Kiene said he chooses musical pieces that are going to be both entertaining for the audience and educational.

“Every year we pick  stuff that we think’s going to be competitive because we are a competitive  band," Kiene said, "and we pick things that are going to be challenging because we have a lot of really great kids who are very talented and hard workers."