Middleton High School’s marching band and color guard earned first place in Class AAAA at the Waukesha North BandFest on Sept. 20. It was the first competition of the season for the Cardinals, and they swept the caption awards, earning Best Percussion, Best Color Guard, Best Visual Presentation, and Best Musical Presentation.
The ensemble includes more than 230 students and is conducted by student drum majors Elise Deitte, Haley Jodlowski, and Sebastian Kellar. This year’s theme is The Light That Remains.
The ensemble will perform in three other competitions this season: Stoughton Marching Invitational on Oct. 4, Sauk Prairie Marching Invite on Oct. 11, and the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) State Championships at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Oct. 17.
In addition to marching competitions, the marching band and color guard will perform at home football games at Borden Athletic Complex on Sept. 25 and Oct. 16 as well as the homecoming parade on Sept. 23.
The ensemble is led by band directors Doug Brown, Eric Rothacker, and Michael Ver Voort; color guard coach Kasey Graff; and percussion coaches Patrick Coughlin and Sebastiaan de Waart. Field staff coaches include Noah Brockway, Shu Cui, and Darlayne Coughlin.
The Cardinal marching band and color guard earned second place in Class AAAA at the WSMA Marching Band State Championships in 2025. The Cardinals also earned three caption awards: best color guard, best percussion and best musical presentation. In 2024, the Cardinals won the state title.
Congratulations to the Cardinals on a strong start to the season!