It was a whirlwind week for the Niceville Eagle Pride Marching Band.

Over eight days The Eagle Pride traveled nearly 500 miles to three different performances in two states.

Early in the afternoon on October 5 a fleet of five charter buses arrived at NHS to take the Eagle Pride to Troy, Alabama.

After taking last year off to focus on a little thing called the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Eagle Pride returned to Troy to perform in the 53rd Annual Southeastern United States Marching Festival, commonly known as the SEUS Festival.

SEUS is usually an annual trek for the Eagle Pride, where they perform their field show and dozens of bands from the Florida/Alabama/Georgia region. As the second-largest band in attendance, the Eagle Pride took the field under the lights of Veterans Memorial Stadium. It wowed thousands of spectators with its incredible performance of “Music of The Eagles.” They garnered straight “superior” ratings in all categories in typical Eagle Pride fashion.

Fast forward a week to Saturday the 12th, the fleet of charter buses returned to NHS to take the Eagle Pride west, this time to Tate HS in Cantonment for their annual Marching Music Performance Assessment or MPA.

The MPA is a marching band evaluation run by the Florida Bandmasters Association and can be considered the band’s “semester exam.” They are judged in marching execution, general effect, music, and auxiliaries.

Just like the week before at Troy, the Eagle Pride put on an amazing performance, getting a huge ovation from the crowd.

Another score of “straight superiors” puts the Eagle Pride in a position to be eligible for the coveted “Otto J. Kraushaar Award,” which is awarded to bands that score superior at both marching and concert MPAs in the

spring.

Over the last few years, NHS was one of only two schools in the entire

state to achieve this distinction with multiple ensembles.

This event was the final MPA for retiring band director Dan Wooten. The Eagle Pride’s stellar performance at Tate underscores his long-term and lasting impact on the Niceville band program.

In between these two big performances, the Eagle Pride took a previously

unplanned trip to support NHS Football at their away game versus Mosely.

Because the game was the night before their big MPA performance, the band hadn’t planned to travel to Mosely. But in typical NHS spirit, roughly 70 musicians formed a “pep band” and traveled to Lynn Haven to support their team.

Their dedication did not go unnoticed as principal Charlie Marello addressed the band before the game, noting how critical the following day was for them and praising their commitment to their school.

Unfortunately, the outcome of the game wasn’t what anyone hoped for, but the Eagle Pride Pep Band spectacularly played their part, energizing the visitor side crowd and doing their best to

impact the game when the Dolphins were on offense.

The coming weeks won’t be quite as busy for the Eagle Pride, but they still have a lot coming up through the end of football season. Friday, October 18, is both Senior Night and Middle School Night, where band seniors will be recognized on-field for the first time in forever, and the Eagle Pride will be joined by the Ruckel and Lewis Middle School bands at halftime.

The Eagle Pride will perform their regular halftime show in an exceptional post-game performance, following a Lincoln High School Band performance.

Away games at Milton and Navarre will see support from the pep and full bands, respectively. Then, on Saturday, November 2, join the Eagle Pride at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center for their annual “Sounds of the Stadium” concert. It’s always a fantastic show and is open to the general public with free admission. The Eagle Pride would love to

pack the house!

About the Author

Band Booster Steve Milz is a passionate supporter of the Niceville High School Eagle Pride Band. He has several children who have participated in the band throughout the years.