An exhausted but euphoric group of Anderson Marching Highlanders spent the weekend savoring their second consecutive Indiana State Fair Band Day championship.
On Monday, some of the band members spent time in class reviewing video of their title-winning performances before being honored at the Anderson Community Schools Board of Trustees meeting.
“When they say it takes a village, there is something to that,” assistant band director Cordell Zehr told the board. “Obviously the kids did a phenomenal job just buying into the work. We told them at the beginning, this was going to be the most difficult show we’ve ever done. They took that and ran with it.”
The band, which had 99 members this year, performed “Cirque Du Ecossais.” The program depicted a circus in the late 1800s to early 1900s, with familiar music that was identifiable with the time period.
Senior Hydee Hall, a drum major, said she is “so proud of this band.”
“It is an unreal experience,” Hall said. “There’s all these new kids that have never experienced this, and getting to see their reactions to winning for the first time is so amazing. All the people that were there last year, getting to compete and have this really fun show, it’s just really fun to do.”
Last year, the Marching Highlanders won their eighth Indiana State Fair Band Day title with their program, “Scots and Soda,” transporting audiences back to a 1950s diner.
Hall felt this year’s Band Day performance felt different than last year’s win, because the scores this year were much closer, and “anything could’ve happened.”
Anderson’s cumulative score was just 0.9 points ahead of Muncie Central High School Spirit of Muncie Band and Guard this year.
During the preliminary round, Anderson placed first and also won the music ensemble caption and the general effect caption. In band competitions, captions are specific categories of a performance that judges evaluate independently.
Hall said everyone in the band worked hard to make Friday’s shows possible.
“Getting to be with sections individually and seeing how they improve, I’m really proud of them,” Hall said. “They’ve made a lot of achievements and a lot of big strides this summer.”
Anderson won state fair marching band championships in 1957-59, 1985-86, 2010, 2019 and 2025. The band took second place in 2024 behind Muncie Central.
The city’s other high school marching bands, before school consolidation, also won state crowns — Highland in 1968, 1970-71, 2005, 2007 and 2009; and Madison Heights in 1963 and 1980.
Band director Richard Geisler said a lot of work over several years has helped the band get to where it is today.
“The championships are great, but I also don’t want to diminish the work that led up to the success we’ve experienced the last couple seasons,” Geisler said. “The program has been rebounding since things fell apart during the pandemic. It’s been really gratifying to see that rebound and to see the kids do their best.
“We wanted to give kids really fun, difficult and challenging music to expand their horizons as musicians, and it’s cool that it turned into a win.”
Both Geisler and Zehr said everything about the band’s program made it the most challenging performance the band has ever done. Particularly challenging elements include the tempo of the music, the notes, the visuals, and the marching itself, they said.
The students are very focused when it comes to the band, with the directors estimated that members put in over 200 hours of practice when combining the preseason and the regular season.
Support for the band was evident throughout the day at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, as hundreds of Anderson supporters showed up for the Band Day competition wearing T-shirts in support.
“It’s validating for us as teachers to see that level of excitement from the community,” Geisler said. “For the kids to put in that much work and that much effort, and have that much of the community show up to watch them and be a part of it, it was wonderful to see that many people there supporting us.”
Junior Ayden Sanglton, who plays trumpet and is a field commander, said the back-to-back championships are a huge accomplishments for he and his bandmates.
“Before the competition, I looked up historical scores, and I saw that we haven’t gone back-to-back since 1985 and 1986,” Sanglton said. “Consequently, we won in 2025 and 2026, so it’s been a 40-year gap. It’s a very special experience.”
Sanglton said hearing Anderson announced as the winner Friday night brought a flood of emotion as he thought back over the hundreds of hours of practice, competitions and other work that went into the season.
“It requires a lot of discipline during practice, and it requires a lot of focus,” Sanglton said. “For some people, it’s a little hard to harness, but once you do, the possibilities are unimaginable.
“It’s not very easy, but once you’re at the awards at the state fair, and you’re seeing all your hard work pay off under those bright, shining lights, you hear Anderson’s announced first, you can’t help but cheer.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.