I don’t remember attending Soaring Sounds in 2019 as Mother was slipping away, and the Soaring Sounds contest of 2020 was canceled due to Covid. For some reason, I don’t recall my reason for not attending last summer.

I saw my first drum & bugle corps contest in 1979 in Kokomo, Indiana with my band director and her college roommate. It was as much a game changer in my fourteen years as the moment I first heard John William’s powerful score to STAR WARS in the movie theatre a few years before. Last night, the excitement and thrill reappeared and I was a fourteen-year-old kid again.

Last night, compliments of Jim & Deb McCutcheon, I sat in the uppermost reaches of Centerville High School’s football stadium to watch DCI ensembles, Cincinnati Tradition, Spartans, Music City, Madison Scouts, The Cavaliers, Mandarins, and Blue Stars with an entertaining encore concert performance by Madison Scouts.

This Thursday morning, I am still riding the musical wave. How inspiring it is to see these thousands of young folks dedicate their spring and summer to such an incredible venue. I applaud them and am grateful for the performances they share.