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Three local high school marching bands have qualified to show their talents at the Ohio Music Education Association State Marching Band Finals.
The bands from Belpre High School, Marietta High School, and Warren High School qualified by receiving a Superior rating during an OMEA competition.
"It's a rating system from one to five," Belpre High School band director William Van Pelt said. "Each rating is a Roman numeral, from I, which is Superior, II, which is Excellent, down to V."
"It's not a competitive event. A panel of judges watches the show, gives feedback, and gives a rating," Courtney Clark, Warren High School's director, said.
The finals take place during two weekends at different high schools across Ohio: Oct. 28 at Hilliard Bradley High School in Columbus, Oct. 29 at Piqua High School in Piqua, Nov. 4 at Medina High School in Medina, and Nov. 5 at Piqua High School.
Warren High School Marching Warriors attended the finals on Oct. 29. The band received a Superior rating for its show "Warped."
"We used electronic sounds, mirror props made out of plastic, the color guard carried flags that are warped.The visuals are always changing," Clark said.
Clark said the Superior rating is the ninth in school history.
He added the weather conditions weren't ideal on performance day, but the band faced those conditions earlier in the season.
"We had to perform on wet and cold days previously," he said. "I told them, control what we can and go out and do our best. The students performed a clean show."
Clark said his students are well trained and have a good work ethic.
He said witnessing their hard work makes his job easier.
"It makes a long season feel short. The students come prepared and work to do their best," he said.
Belpre High School Marching Band is scheduled to perform Saturday at Medina High School. This is their third consecutive appearance.
Van Pelt said Marietta High School Director Korey Parlin scheduled Belpre's time slot to be near theirs.
"Each school gets a 15 minute block to perform. We go on at 4:45 p.m. and Marietta will be at 5:30 p.m. We did that so their fans can support us and we can support them," he said,
Van Pelt said the show "Through the Clouds," is "an evolution of a thunderstorm" and is broken up into three movements: Blue Skies, The Storm, and The Rainbow. The final movement will feature "True Colors" by Cindy Lauper.
Van Pelt said Belpre has received a II or Excellent rating in its past two appearances. He said he's hoping for a Superior this time around.
"I want my kids to perform the best performance they've done all year," he said. "I want them to hold nothing back and shoot for the stars."
Speaking of stars, Parlin said Marietta's show is based on a famous painting with a starry motif: Starry Night by Vincent Van Gough.
The musical selections will include Clair De Lune by Claude Debussy, Golden Hour by pop artist JVKE, and Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay.
"We mixed classical and pop to tell a story through music," Parlin said.
Marietta hasn't qualified for state finals since 2018. It's Parlin's first time in his four years as director along with many of his students.
"One student has been before. It's an exciting moment for all of us. Moments like this propel your program forward," he said.
Parlin added: "I'm not so worried about an overall rating. There's objectivity and subjectivity in judging. I just want them to give their best performance of the season."
Kristen Hainkel can be reached at khainkel@newsandsentinel.com