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Many others agree with Scroggins. The website micromarching. com states that many states have really good bands, but lists Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois as the top five.
“ While Texas wins in numbers, Indiana and Texas are the top two, of course,” the site says.
Meanwhile, bandscores. net listed its top-five high school bands for 2024 as: 1. Avon( Ind.), 2. Flower Mound( Texas), 3. Hebron( Texas), 4. Marcus( Texas) and 5. Carmel( Ind.).
The Indiana State School Music Association( ISSMA) organizes and conducts marching band competitions across the state. In addition, there are competitions for concert bands, jazz bands and show choirs, as well as other performance-based events. Marching bands are divided into classes based on school size and consistency of high performances. Floyd Central High School’ s Highlander Band competes in Class A. The ISSMA website ranked the Highlander Band as ninth in the state in its division.
The Indiana State Marching Band Championships have been highly competitive in every class. The website hornrank. com states that if you examine the top-level bands per state capita, no other state can match the number of top-level bands as the state of Indiana. Texas, for example, has roughly 4 1 / 2 times more people than Indiana.
Micromarching. com hints that Texas may be better musically, but Indiana marching bands create a better overall visual effect for their audiences.
High school marching bands compete at individual competitions throughout the early fall. Similar to sporting sectionals, the bands will then compete for the crowns in their districts before moving to regional and state competitions.
Marching band scores are typically determined by evaluating various aspects of their performance. Judges will assess both individual and ensemble performance in music, visual presentation and general effect. Often the scores are weighted differently, judging various components. The final score is calculated by averaging the scores of the judges and deducting any penalties.
The music performance portion of the competition judges music individually and as a group.
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NOV / DEC 2025 NEWS AND TRIBUNE SPORTS MAGAZINE PAGE NO. 7