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New York State Field Band Championships: One in 4,050 NYS Field Band Championships: One in 4,050

By Lindsay Arons

NYS Field Band Championships
© 2023 Lindsay Arons

REPORTER: You can hear the excitement being felt in the JMA Wireless Dome this past Sunday, as the New York State Field Band Competition which features high school bands from all across the state of New York took place right on Syracuse University’s campus.

REPORTER: 54 bands participated in the competition, with a total of 4,050 band members. Of those 4,050 competitors, only one both played an instrument and took part in the band’s color guard routine. 16-year-old Andrew Lawin, played the trumpet and later tossed wooden rifles in the air for New Hartford High School’s big finale.

ANDREW LAWIN:“You get to have the best of both elements, and it’s like a lot of performance. It all started with marching band and during that I saw the guard rehearsing. And I thought, oh my god this looks so cool I have to try it”

REPORTER:Andrew has been involved with New Hartford’s marching band from a young age, he came into the program as just a 7th grader. He has now grown to be one of the most integral parts of the show.

DANIEL FABBIO: “We had a solo moment for him right at the end of the show, right when that last thunderbolt hits. And that’s when it drops in his hands. And it’s also unique because you normally don’t see someone from the band, proper in uniform, do that.”

REPORTER: New Hartford finished third in its class and they were the highest-placing upstate band, despite falling to two Long Island schools. Andrew Lawin looks to come back for his senior year next year and lead them to a higher rank in the competition. From here at the JMA wireless dome, I’m Lindsay Arons – NCC News

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – The annual New York State Field Band Championships took place at the JMA Wireless Dome on October 29. The competition was founded in 1974 by six upstate high schools. It has since evolved, as the 2023 competition featured 54 high school bands from across New York State. 

 

The competition brought many New Yorkers out to Syracuse with participating high schools ranging from as far south and east as Brentwood, Long Island to as far west as Jamestown. There are six different school-size classifications to ensure a more-balanced competition.

 

A total of 4,050 students took part in the day-long event but one competitor stood apart from the others. Andrew Lawin, a 16-year-old Junior from New Hartford High School, is a part of both his band’s brass section and color guard. Lawin has the ability to both play the trumpet and spin and toss wooden rifles in the air. 

 

The New Hartford High Marching Spartans utilized Lawin’s abilities for the grand finale of their show, titled “Look Up.” Lawin set his trumpet down at the Dome’s 40-yard-line and picked up a wooden rifle that was hidden under a stage on the field. He then performed a 10-second spin routine, ending with a picture-perfect toss and catch to the final note of Adele’s hit song “Skyfall.” Lawin’s band members all fell to the ground as he held the rifle high up in the air to conclude the Spartans’ performance. 

 

New Hartford finished third in its class, trailing Mineola and Roslyn who finished first and second respectively. New Hartford had been state runners-up the last two years and recently won its class at the prestigious Ludwig-Musser Classic at MetLife Stadium, home of the NFL’s Giants and Jets.

 

The New Hartford band starts their members young, recruiting students as early as the seventh grade. At the age of 12, Lawin (then just playing trumpet alone) was named one of the band’s most outstanding marchers, an honor rarely given to a seventh-grader. 

 

Lawin aims to help New Hartford advance further next season, as he will return for the 2024 competition in his senior year. 

 

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