On Saturday, October 25th, the Pride of Littleton Marching Band traveled to the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs to compete in the 2025 State Semifinals. The tensions were high as the Band stepped onto the field: the chance to compete in Finals was on the line. This was what it was all for, all of the hours of tireless work, all of the competitions and performances and late night practices. It all came down to this.
The Lions put on an extraordinary Semi-Final performance. Their production, artistically titled “Broken Reflections,” depicted a story of shattered identity. The rainbow-clothed Colorguard posed in front of reflective tinfoil mirrors, effectively “shattering” their reflection. The music was thoughtfully selected, featuring dramatic renditions of songs that included “Mad World” and “Wayfaring Stranger”, and the movements were crisp and coordinated. The performance was so good, in fact, that it made Marching Band Director Don Emmons extremely emotional.
When the qualifying bands were announced, audible gasps echoed around the stadium. Both Fruta High School and Littleton High School were going to compete in Finals! It was the first time two bands had tied for State Finals in over 10 years.
“In the past, whenever there have been ties, both bands haven’t got to perform. They’ve always found a tie-breaker, but this year they couldn’t find a tie breaker at all,” said Lena Abbot, the Woodwinds section leader.
“We were all excited and really surprised,” said Drum Major Emily Valley.
“When we qualified for Semifinals, there was a slim chance that we would make it to Finals. It was really on the line. Maybe, maybe not,” said Abbott. Despite the odds, the Lions emerged victorious, with their highest score of the season: 78.15.
However, this victory was not one without challenges. The first couple of the band’s performances had movements that were not fully completed.
“This year, the band had one bad competition. After that, they realized that they needed to lock in, and so they did. They started being really really good, and our scores jumped,” said Valley.
Abbott says there were two aspects to the band’s success. “First, there is the technical side. We’ve put in a ton of hours and really focused on more of our music this year, and so we’ve brought our music scores up. We’ve worked out the marching details. There’s also the attitude part of it, and we do this thing where, at the beginning of the season, we start with making a Final block [schedule]… So we start with the mentality of, ‘We can make it to Finals. We can do great things.” And they did make it to Finals and did great things!
“I’m glad we got there, because then it’s been four years [that we’ve gone to Finals] for me,” said trombone soloist Quinten Vick.
“I really want more people to join. I want more people to watch,” said Valley, when asked about what she is excited about for next year’s season.
“I can’t wait to see everyone’s motivation going into this next band camp, because we’ve made it to Finals, we’ve put in the work, and we saw where it got us,” said Lena Abbott.
Congratulations to the Pride of Littleton Marching Band on this enormous achievement!
