MIDDLEBURG – The Echoes of Excellence marching band competition is almost here. It will be Saturday, Oct. 17 at Middleburg High.

Entering the school year, everything was in limbo. Would there be in-seat instruction? Would there be athletics as usual? How would everything be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic? It turned out that everything would carry on.

Precautions will be taken, but the show must go on.

Enter Michelle Andrade. She is a parent of a member of the Middleburg band. She is passionate about the work her son puts in to continue to become a musician. She is very excited about the upcoming competition and the opportunity the band members will have to show how hard they’ve been working and what they can do.

“They will come, and they will perform and they will be graded on their performance,” Andrade said. “Just like in previous year’s competitions, they will have judges. They have that background in music. They grade on form, they grade on music, they grade on technique, and that is what will be happening at the Echoes of Excellence.”

Approximately 12 schools will compete. Middleburg is hosting of the competition, so it won’t compete. But they will have a special performance. Their performance will be the finale before the judging begins.

Health concerns are abundant, and all activities have made efforts to ensure that they are within guidelines to do everything possible to limit possible exposure to and spread of the virus.

“Clay County and the Band Directors in Clay County have spent a lot of time trying to keep the CDC rules so our kids can still perform and still play,” said Andrade. When the students practice indoors, they use certain filters and masks to protect them from the spread of droplets. “During the competition, because they will be outdoors on the field, very distanced away from the public, they will be performing without masks.”

The band directors have taken every precaution to ensure that all possible safety precautions have been taken to protect both the students, the staff working with them, and the public who will be there to watch the competition.