For the first time on record, Niles High School band students received a division one ranking at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association’s state competition in Paw Paw last week.

Upon hearing their score, students shrieked with joy, said band student Anna Stewart.

“It made me jump out of my seat,” Stewart recalled.

To congratulate them on their success, authorities from the fire department and ambulance services escorted students into town along M-51 and down Wayne Street back to the high school.

Band Director Josh Doe said students were surprised by the escort.

“They had no idea that they were going to be escorted,” Doe said.  “That was set up by a band parent. That was a really cool experience for the kids.”

Doe said students did not earn the score without loads of hard work.

For the competition, students must play three practiced pieces for a panel of judges.

Students also demonstrate their musical ability by sight reading a piece. The students are given only five minutes to examine the piece and are not allowed to pick up their instruments to practice.

“These kids had to really, really focus and work hard to achieve what they did,” Doe said. “They had to put in a ton of work. It is hard to stay focused on the same pieces for almost three months.”

To keep practice interesting, Doe said he picked pieces that demonstrate a spectrum of musical genre.

Students played a Russian festive march, “Balalaika,” which received rave reviews from judges, Doe said.  They also played a slower piece called “Expression” and an African influenced piece called “Sand of the Sahara.”

Even Doe said he was a little surprised by the outcome of the scores, not that he did not think students sounded great, but because the judges were tough, he said.

But Doe told his students what he often says: “go put and play, and have fun.”

For Doe, the highlight was conducting students through the songs and seeing students in their element on stage.

The toughest part of the competition was the sight reading, Doe said.

“That has been our Achilles’ heel,” Doe said.

Despite not being able to pick up their instruments to practice the piece, students did exceptionally well, Doe said.

“They need to realize that they are actually better sight readers than they think they are,” he said.

The state competition remains one of many places this year where Niles High School band students got to show off their musical skills. In April, the band traveled to Disney World in Florida to perform.

Because the students had such a busy schedule, Doe asked band members if they wanted to opt in to the competition this year.

“I told them that if they voted to go, we were going to work super hard and get there,” Doe said. “We are lucky to have every single one of them [band students].”

Additionally, Doe thanked the Niles administration and community for supporting the band — including those who recognized with fire trucks and ambulances to celebrate.

According to Doe, the division one ranking may have been achieved before, but it has been many years since the competition and this would be the first time on record the high school got the score.