Ed Birch, Special Writer
Despite rain and terrible field conditions, the 32nd annual South Brunswick Viking Band Tournament drew a crowd Oct. 1 from its late afternoon start until the final awards presentation.
The poor outside conditions caused the show to be moved from the athletic field at the high school on Ridge Road into the gymnasium.
The change in venue meant the spectators were more compact, and the cheering was louder than the usual outdoor competition.
It was the 31st yearly tournament for Band Director Mark Kraft and his wife, Visual Designer Virginia Kraft.
Division winners were:
1-A: Shore Regional High School.
1-Open: Msgr. Farrell High School, Staten Island, New York.
2-A: West Windsor-Plainsboro North High School.
2-Open: Edison High School.
3-A: Monroe Township High School.
3 Open: Chatham High School.
4-A: Union High School.
4-Open: Nazareth Area High School, Pennsylvania.
5-A: Somerville High School.
5-Open: Hillsborough High School.
6-Open: Immaculata High School, Somerville.
The overall category winners were:
Best Music Immaculata High School, William Kellerman Memorial Award.
Best Color Guard Somerville High School.
Best Percussion Immaculata High School, Somerville.
Best Drum Majors Hillsborough High School, George Parks Memorial Award.
Best Visual Effects Immaculata High School, Somerville.
The final award for the evening was the Mayor’s Trophy presented by South Brunswick Mayor Frank Gambatese to the Immaculata High School Spartans Marching Band under the direction of Ed Webber for its show, “Planetarium.”
The judges scored the show a tournament high rating of 83.500. This is Mr. Webber’s ninth year supervising the marching band for the Somerville school.
