Cadets of Waukesha West 2006 WSMA State Champions!
October 22, 2006


What a day! What a week! What a month! What a year!

The Cadets of Waukesha West gave an electrifying performance of “Traditions” to a VERY enthusiastic audience at the UW-Whitewater Williams Center on Saturday evening. The rainy weather did not dampen the spirits of the 193 members of the Cadets of Waukesha West!

After a day full of rain and deteriorating field conditions at UW-Whitewater, the decision was made to move the AAAA band’s performances indoors at the Williams Center. The original plan called for a “standstill performance” using only a portion of the space available in the Williams Center. Thanks to the persuasive efforts of several AAAA band directors, the green light was given to tape off a football field on the floor of the arena. Band directors and parents from several schools joined in the effort to tape the floor and get the center ready for an indoor MARCHING performance. Special thanks to the West “Band Dads” who helped get this done in record time!

The Cadets “took the field” at approximately 9:15 PM, and the performance was magnificent! From the very first note of the warm-up, you could feel the determination of the group. The field warm-up was absolutely beautiful! Thank you Rick Kirby for writing music with such warmth, caring, longing, and beauty. The performance of Act I “Family” was bold and confident. Act II “Faith” was performed with the degree of elegance and flow that few groups can achieve. Act III “Celebration” lived up to its namesake from the opening percussion feature, through the brilliant clarinet cadenza and wind quintet, to the magnificent “bottle dance” performed by the Color Guard, and through the outstanding up tempo section to complete the show.

Our sister schools Waukesha North and Waukesha South also gave outstanding performances of their 2006 shows “West Side Story” and “JC Superstar.” Band members and families from all three Waukesha Schools have worked very hard to prepare and perfect their performances, and all students are to be commended for their diligence in working through the wet weather over the past few weeks.

The Cadets of Waukesha West received the first place trophy at the 2006 WSMA Marching Band State Championships. In addition, the Cadets received first place caption trophies for Best Musical Presentation and Best Visual Presentation. 2006 marks the 7th year that the Cadets have achieved State Championship status. The Cadets received their first WSMA State Marching Band Championship Award in 1997, and again in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, and 2006. The Cadets now conclude a very successful performance season having received the AAAA first place trophy at every event competed in, and we have also won caption awards for Best Music, Best Visual, Best Color Guard, and Best Percussion at various events throughout the performance season.

A special note of thanks to all the students for your hard work, to the parents for everything you do to help and support us (the hall decorations were outstanding!), and to the Cadet staff for your untiring efforts to help our students build success.

The Cadet’s 2006 show “Traditions” now resides in the hearts and minds of everyone involved in its production and its performances. We are planning to create another “DVD Season Documentary” thanks to the continued efforts of Adam Smith and others. This documentary is usually completed and made available to students and families in late winter/early spring.

The Cadets still have three important upcoming performances including the Waukesha Education Foundation performance on November 5 (selected students, not all Cadets), and the Milwaukee and Waukesha Holiday parades on November 18 & 19 (all Cadets!) Please mark or review your calendars for these events so that we will have near perfect attendance. The 2006 WSMA AAAA State Championship Marching Band has a reputation to uphold!

Congratulations students, staff, parents, family, and supporters for an outstanding 2006 performance season!