PVHS Ocean of Sound marching band has strong start to competitive season

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The Ponte Vedra High School Ocean of Sound marching band started its competitive season off on a high note in October, placing second out of 14 bands at The First Coast Marching Invitational on Oct. 6 at Nease High School, and successfully defending its title as Grand Champion at the Fleming Island Golden Eagle Classic on Oct. 13, both FMBC Regional Band Competitions.  

The band took the field at the Golden Eagle Classic featuring its 2018 show, “The Mistress of All Evil,” based on “Maleficent” and the classic “Sleeping Beauty” fairytale. The Ocean of Sound was the only band to receive a Superior rating during its preliminary performance in all categories: Music, Visual, General Effect, Percussion, Auxiliary and Drum Major. For its finals performance, the band received awards for Best General Effect, Best Visual and Best Music, contributing to an overall score of 75.40 and edging out the Spruce Creek High Steppin’ Hawks, a Class 5A band.

The prior week at The First Coast Marching Invitational, the Ocean of Sound won the 4A class in preliminaries and took Best Music, Visual Performance and General Effect.  In finals performance, the band earned second place with a score of 72.8, just behind Class 5A band Sebastian River High School’s 75.5 score.

Expectations for the band are high this year as it reflects on its breakout 2017 season when it secured Grand Champion awards in two FMBC Regional Band Competitions and placed ninth out of 14 bands in Class 4A semifinals at the state FMBC Championships.  

“Last year was such a terrific year for this group and we’re building off of that momentum.  We still have a lot of work to do to prepare for State in November, but these early performances prove that we’re not a one-season wonder,” Band Director Jermaine Reynolds said. “We know we are only as good as our last performance and are pushing ourselves to have our best run every single time we take the field.”

The Ocean of Sound is comprised of 107 musicians and 13 color guard, having graduated 22 seniors in 2017 and welcomed 28 freshman this year. In his third year as PVHS band director, Reynolds attributes the band’s growth and success to many things including hard work and dedication by the students, his staff including Auxiliary Director Lauren Nock, and the many parent volunteers and band boosters who make the program possible.

In addition to Friday night football halftime performances, the band will be taking its production to the Florida Bandmasters Association MPA event on Oct. 27 at Bartram Trail High School and the Echoes of Excellence FMBC Regional Competition at Middleburg High School on Nov. 3 where they will also be defending their Grand Championship title before heading to State.