Siuslaw second at Oregon State festival


Siuslaw band director Chris Rowbotham

The Siuslaw Symphonic Band has taken a major step to qualifying for the 2020 state band championships in May.

Last month, the Siuslaw band was second place of five Class 4A schools at the Oregon State Band Festival in Corvallis.

Siuslaw received scores of 75, 75 and 70 to qualify for the tape pool, which allows schools to be considered for the state championships after all automatic qualifiers are accommodated.

This means of qualifying may be significantly more important this spring as events are cancelled due to the coronavirus.

"Up next was supposed to be the Sky-Em League Championship," Siuslaw band director Chris Rowbotham said. "However due to the announcement from the state of Oregon, that festival as of right now is officially cancelled."

"We are continuing to monitor the information coming out from both the state and OSAA on what this means for the state championship in terms of bands. Band applications are due by April 18th, so there will not be a lot of time for any other qualifying events."