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Jianguo Senior High School wins international marching band contest

The Taipei Municipal Jianguo Senior High School marching band practices in Taipei before traveling to Italy for the world championships. The band won the competition in Monza on Saturday. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHIEN KUO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

The marching band of Taipei Municipal Jianguo Senior High School won the title of world marching band champion in a competition held in Italy on Saturday, the highest honor the prestigious high school has won.

“The championship goes to the 85-member Jianguo marching corps for its near-perfect instrumental performance and its phenomenal and highly difficult marching skills,” said Felice Cattaneo, president of the Italian Marching Show Bands Association.

The 15-minute performance received thunderous applause from spectators lining the streets of Monza, where this year’s competition took place.

“The boys made a successful contribution to increasing Taiwan’s profile on the world stage by performing phenomenally,” said the school’s superintendent, Wu Wu-hsiung (吳武雄), who accompanied the band to the world championship.

Marching bands from 13 countries and regions took part in the championship, but the Taiwanese band was the only group from Asia to participate in the competition, organized by the World Association of Marching Show Bands.

Fan Chia-ming (范家銘), the chief coach, said the students deserved the honor, as the band members had practiced 13 hours a day for several weeks in the run-up to the competition.

“The members stunned the audience by presenting 58 different marching patterns in a short eight-minute set for the self-selected performance section,” said Chang Mei-chu (張美珠), a parent who accompanied the band on their trip.

The Jianguo Senior High marching corps won third place in a similar competition in London in 2004.

The band returned to the competition venue late on Saturday to join bands from Italy and Canada — which won the second and third places — to give a free show for Monza residents.

The nearly 100-member Jianguo delegation was scheduled to leave for Milan yesterday to begin on a week-long tour of Italy before heading home.
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