Following a full day of rehearsal, the Newtown High School Marching Band and Guard performed at Bunnell High School in Stratford on October 6. The group scored 91.175 to place first in Group IV Open.

Newtown’s show, “The Climb,” is a combination of music, theater, dance, and movement that tells a story about perseverance. A voice-over in the first movement says, “A wise man once said, ‘There is no elevator to success. You must take the stairs.’” Another voice-over states, “All that matters is putting one foot in front of the other and forging ahead.” This group of 91 band and guard members spends 16 to 20 hours a week practicing and perfecting the steps and music.

The band and guard’s next competition will be the afternoon of Saturday, October 13, at the USBands Yamaha Cup Northeast competition at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J.

More than 30 bands will be performing at that competition. The Newtown group will also compete the same evening at Hillsborough High School in Somerset County, N.J.

For more information about the Newtown Band and Guard and its events, newtownbandandguard.weebly.com.