All of the Tyrone band’s hard work paid off last weekend with a second-place finish out of 11 schools at the Pennsylvania State Championships at Mansion Park in Altoona on October 29.

The band received a season-best high score of 91.73, as well as awards for High Percussion and High Music.

“There were so many emotions. I was hoping for an increase in score, maybe even break 90, but that score was higher than I expected,” said Tyrone Band Director David Hock, “I also was surprised but very ecstatic to hear the high music and high percussion awards.”

Hock was appreciative of the accomplishments of his students.

“Even before the awards were announced I was feeling really emotional thinking about how proud I am of the students and their progress this year, and I’ve been so excited to see how happy they are about their performances and scores. So naturally, when they called the scores, I had so many emotions and even was in tears,” said Hock.

The band continues to practice and grow closer, as their final competition at the Atlantic Coast Championships, held at Hershey Park Stadium on November 6.

TOB Atlantic Coast Championship 1-A consists of 19 different performing schools. The competition starts at 10:30 am and Tyrone performs at 2:30 pm.

Last year, Tyrone placed second at Regionals with an 87.69 and placed 11th with a score of 87.00 at ACCs.

The bands that Tyrone will compete against at ACCs will be a different group than those they competed against at states, so it’s hard to predict how Tyrone will compare to the other groups.

“Even though our Regionals score puts us in the 4th spot, that doesn’t guarantee that we’ll finish 4th since we have never competed against many of those bands. Because of that, and also because we will have a different set of judges for ACC, our score and placement could vary a little bit. I have confidence that we will finish in the top 10, but I’m hoping that we can finish in the top 5 and hoping to have a score comparable to our score at States,” said Hock.

Members of the band are experiencing different emotions as the end of the season approaches.

Underclassmen are preparing for their upcoming season(s), improving on their music and sets, while seniors are remembering all the amazing times they’ve had, honoring their fellow peers.

“To the students, keep pressing on and keep finding that passion and energy to perform to your absolute best. No matter what happens with placement or score at ACC, the most important part is how you feel about your performance. In 10 years the part about band that you will remember most is how the music made you feel. Keep trying to make yourself better than you were the week before and always find that passion and the reason for what you do, more than just the notes and drill,” said Hock.