- November 17, 2025
Drum Major Trent Riddick leads the Mainland marching band on Senior Night at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Percussionists during the FPC band's halftime show. Photo by Keishia McLendon
The Seabreeze marching band plays after the homecoming game win against Atlantic at the Daytona Stadium on Friday, Oct. 3. Photo by Michele Meyers
The Seabreeze marching band performs before the Homecoming game against Atlantic at the Daytona Stadium on Friday, Oct. 3. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland High School band. Photo by Brian McMillan
An'jeli Seppala perfroms with the FPC band at halftime. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Matanzas band performs at halftime. Photo by Hannah Hodge
The Matanzas High School band warming up before MPA. Courtesy of MHS
All four local high school marching bands in Flagler County and north Volusia County have taken home superior ratings for their Marching Band Music Performance Assessments on Oct. 25.
The MPA is a competitive assessment where marching bands perform their shows for judges and are scored across several categories: visual performance, general effect, two music scores and one score for auxiliary, or the color guard. Bands can receive a ‘poor,’ ‘fair,’ ‘good,’ ‘excellent’ or ‘superior’ rating in each category, with superior being the top rating a band can receive.
The Seabreeze and Mainland High School bands performed at Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida with 14 other marching bands in the District 6 group.
This was the Mainland High School marching band’s fourth consecutive year receiving superiors. The band has over 100 students who competed in the MPA, performing a medley of songs from the band Earth, Wind and Fire, featuring songs like "September," "Boogie Wonderland" and "After the Love Has Gone."
Gregory Dukes has been the Mainland band director for the last seven years. He said he and his assistant director arranged the music so that each section – percussion, brass and woodwind – were spotlighted in a portion of the score.
The Buccaneers received straight superior ratings across all five categories.
“The greatest joy of a director,” Dukes said, “is watching students grow. Seeing them where they started and watching them excel and then to reach these high achievements.”
Dukes said he works with the students on their fundamental skills in preparation for a performance like MPA. That includes tone and ear training exercises, technical skills and music reading exercises.
“You can’t have a great band without great musicianship,” Dukes said.
Not only does marching band teach actionable skills and discipline the students will use for the rest of their lives, there are also opportunities for some students to take leadership roles. In Mainland, two seniors lead the band as drum majors: Kailyn Wilson who plays alto saxophone and Trent Riddick from the percussion section.
Dukes said both students did well this year, though, just like every performance there
In Seabreeze’s case, this is the first superior rating they’ve received in six years, Seabreeze Principal Tucker Harris said in a morning announcements video message on Oct. 27.
“Greatness is no accident. Hope is not a strategy, luck is not a strategy,” he said. “Band, you’ve been working hard, and then, boom. Superior. It’s not accidental, it’s not luck.”
Seabreeze band director could not be reached in time for the publication of this article. According to the Florida School of Music Association’s website with the MPA results, Seabreeze, with its 77 band students, received four of five superior ratings and one excellent rating in the auxiliary category, for an overall rating of superior.
Dukes said that though his band received top scores, there is always room for improvement, from the overall sound to marching consistency. His students are success-driven and have high expectations, he said.
Dukes is teaching them a mindset that will stay with them for years to come.
“We have a thing that we say: Superior is non-negotiable,” Dukes said. “It's not just in a score that we receive when we get evaluated, but it's in everything that we do. It’s in how we rehearse, it's in how we come to school. It's in how we think. That’s the mindset that my students have taken.”
Both the Matanzas High School and Flagler Palm Coast High School marching bands also received straight superiors, continuing their streaks of success.
The MHS band has only been competing consecutively since the 2021-2022 school year, according to the FSMA website. It has consistently earned superior ratings, with all but one year’s performance taking home straight superiors.
The FPC Marching Bulldogs have been competing consecutively for 22 years – with the exception of the 2020 MPA that was cancelled – according to the FPC Facebook page. The band has earned superiors every year.
The two Flagler County marching bands competed with 15 other marching bands at the assessment in the District 21 group, performing at Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns County.
Neither the FPC or MHS band directors could be reached in time for publication.
