728 Cadets
The 728 Cadets Marching Band is a marching band comprised of students from 7th–12th grade from schools within the Elk River Area School District. The band travels, performs, and competes in various parades throughout central Minnesota during the summer.[1].
History
The 728 Cadets Marching Band was formed between the music departments of the middle and high schools of Elk River, Rogers, and Zimmerman. The organization performed in its first competitive season in 2008. Prior to May 2008, the three high schools marched and competed as separate marching bands. When the schools joined as a single marching band, they performed their first show “Elastic” that summer. The 728 Cadets Marching Band has become a very decorated organization, winning many awards at competitions. The organization has won many awards ranging from First Place and Grand Champion trophies to People’s Choice awards. From their accomplishments, they are known as "one of Minnesota's top performing summer marching bands" [2]
Other Groups
Since its formation, the 728 Cadets organization has included three ensembles that perform and compete during the winter: River Valley Percussion Theater (RVPT), River Valley Winter Guard (RVWG), and River Valley Sound (RVS). All of these are composed of middle and high schoolers from the same schools within the district.
Competitions
Throughout the summer season, the marching band marches in numerous competitions during parades. The group also marches in the Zimmerman, Rogers, and Elk River parades, but is not judged. The biggest competitions the 728 Cadets attend are hosted the last two weeks of June: Harry Wenger Marching Band Festival, Lake Waconia Band Festival, and Vikingland Band Festival.
Vikingland Band Festival
The Vikingland Band Festival is held every summer during the last weekend in June, and is considered "one of the largest street marching band competitions in the Midwest" [3]. The 728 Cadets have competed in the festival since 2009. The organization competed in Class AAA in its first two years, then transitioned into Class AAAA, which is the highest class. The 728 Cadets have won the title of Grand Champion four times since 2009, among various other awards. When an organization has obtained the title of Grand Champion for three years in a row, that group is able to keep the flag that is won as Grand Champion. The 728 Cadets retired their Grand Champion flag in 2015, from winning Grand Champion between 2013–2015. This makes the 728 Cadets the third band in the festival's history to retire the Grand Champion flag, the other bands being Irondale and Waconia. (Note: Before the era of flags, Litchfield was a five-time Class Champion 1985–89 and three-time Grand Champion 1987–89).
| Year | Show Title | Awards[4] |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Elastic | Did Not Compete |
| 2009 | Incantation | Class AAA: 3rd Place (77.2) |
| 2010 | Eye Of The Storm | Class AAA: 2nd Place (78.19) |
| 2011 | Alice | Class AAAA: 1st Place (84.4); Wind Section |
| 2012 | Tribal | Class AAAA: 2nd Place (86.5); People's Choice |
| 2013 | Simple Gift | Class AAAA: 1st Place (90.9); Color Guard; Grand Champion |
| 2014 | Spectacular | Class AAAA: 1st Place (89.9); Color Guard; Percussion; Grand Champion |
| 2015 | Rise | Class AAAA: 1st Place (92.1); Color Guard; Percussion; People's Choice; Grand Champion |
| 2016 | Dare To Dream | Class AAAA: 1st Place (89.1); Color Guard; Percussion; Wind Section |
| 2017 | Invincible | Class AAAA: 1st Place (89.5); Color Guard; Percussion; Wind Section; People's Choice; Grand Champion |
| 2018 | Out Of The Box | Class AAAA: 2nd Place (84.6); Color Guard; Wind Section |
| 2019 | Industrial Blvd. | Class AAAA: 1st Place (85.4); Color Guard; Percussion; Wind Section |
| 2020 | Summer of Silence | n/a |
| 2021 | Hypnotize | Superior (2021 festival featured ratings of "Good / Excellent / Superior" rather than placements and scores) |
| 2022 | Last Full Measure | Class AAAA: 1st Place (86.6); Color Guard; Percussion; Wind Section |
| 2023 | Heist | Class AAAA: 1st Place (88.8); Percussion; Wind Section; Grand Champion |
| 2024 | Finish Line | Class AAAA; 1st Place (86.7); Percussion; Wind Section; Grand Champion |
References
- ↑ "728 Cadets "Rise" Continues" (Volume 52. No. 20). Crow River Life. August 7, 2015.
- ↑ "728 Cadets Marching Band". Harry Wenger Marching Band Festival. 2012.
- ↑ "728 Cadets: 'Always been a crowd favorite'". Crow River Life. August 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Vikingland Band Festival: Scores".
This article "728 Cadets" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:728 Cadets. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
