ALJ Marching Band Wins Again at Tournament of Bands

The ALJ Crusader Marching Band defended its Tournament of Bands (TOB) Chapter 10 Group 1A Title on Sunday at the Chapter 10 Championships in North Caldwell. 

This is the third consecutive year ALJ Music Director Rachel Bollaro has brought the Crusader Marching Band to the TOB competition field, and it’s their third consecutive Class 1A title. With this win, the Crusader Marching Band set its all time high-score since it began competing in 2011, earning a score of 90.05. The band also placed first for all specialty awards in its class, including Best Visual Effect, Best Percussion, Best Music and Best Color Guard.

The Crusaders’ field show, “Atlantis,” composed by Ken Poulan, consists of three musical movements: “The Thriving Metropolis”; “An Eerie Calm”; and “The Demise of Atlantis.” The musical arrangements are highly technical and the field show is complex and difficult. Crusader musicians and color guard members have spent hundreds of hours working on this year’s show since August.  

The band's new high score has earned the Crusaders a No. 2 rank out of more than 40 bands in the TOB Group 1A. Next, they head to the Atlantic Coast Championships on Saturday in Harrisburg, Pa. There they will compete against 21 other bands from NJ, DE, PA, MD, VA and WV.