Dowling Catholic Vanguard will be competing in the Prairie Colors Marching Festival on Saturday, September 7th in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The band will be departing that morning and returning that evening – exact times TBD.

If you don’t want spend 7 1/2 hours driving to and from the competition, sign-up to ride the DCV fan bus! An extra charter bus has been reserved this competition for DCV family and fans to accompany DCV on this trip. 

The cost to ride the bus will be no more than $50 per person (maybe less if we fill the bus) and the cost will be charged to your family’s band account. Deadline to sign-up is Friday, August 2nd.

UPDATED NOTE: The fan bus is confirmed. A few seats still remain. Signup link below is still open. Trip details will be emailed to those who signed up, but it will mirror the DCV schedule.

Sign-up today!

Senior Awards

The John Philip Sousa Band Award  – Kaleb Roberson
The Louis Armstrong Jazz Award  – Alex Schwarte
Patrick S. Gilmore Band Award –  Marcus Castellano
The Reubin Alcoy Memorial Award – Katherine Greening
The Most Improved Senior Award – Jayne Ancona
The Service and Commitment Award  – Sarah Degen
The Woody Herman Jazz Award – Jonathan Musel 
The Quincy Jones Musicianship Award – Joshua Nguyen
The Good Samaritan Award – Bailey Leyser

Freshmen, Sophomore, & Junior Awards

The Michael Cargill Jazz Scholarship Award – John Cahalan (Freshman)  
Sean Runyan Memorial Scholarship Award – Aidan Bird (Junior)
Directors Award for Band Freshman – Zuzia Wheeler
Directors Award for Band Sophomore – Luke McIlhon
Directors Award for Band Junior – Stephen Cahalan

2019 Year End Video Direct Link:
https://dowlingband.zenfolio.com/p430893755/eca312298

Dowling solo and ensemble performers took home the Overall Grand Champion trophy on February 16, 2019, at the 35th Annual Perry Band Olympics.

The Perry Band Olympics is both a competition and a festival – so schools do compete against one another in a way.

Here’s a list of the Dowling performers/groups who WON their categories:

• 9-10 Tenor Sax Solo A – Riley McElroy
• 9-10 Mallet Solo A – Alex Ryan
• 9-10 Horn Solo C – Marion Mathew
• 11-12 Clarinet Solo C – Joshua Nguyen
• 9-10 Alto Sax Solo A – Nick Celsi
• 11-12 Mallet Solo C – Kaleb Roberson
• 11-12 Trombone Solo B – Alex Schwarte
• 11-12 Bassoon Solo A – Jayne Ancona
• 9-10 Large Ensemble B – Clarinet Choir
• 11-12 Unlike Duet A – Nguyen/Schwarte
• 9-10 Quartet A – Heaston/Leyser/Nguyen/Nguyen

Dowling finished 2nd in Class I (large schools) with an average score of our top 25 performers of 9.04. This was an improvement of .16 points over last year where DCHS scored an 8.88. Overall, our score this year (9.04) is a bit better than average for our top 25 entries over the years.

All schools in all classes are eligible for the “Grand Champion.” For that award, the average score of ALL students is considered instead of just the top 25. So, every student matters, and division ratings matter more now since we’re including all of our entries. We had 75 entries this year.

This is the second year in a row where DCHS won the grand championship and the 10th since 2005. It was our highest average score per student since Mr. Hoover began keeping records 15 years ago. We scored a 6.227 average score per entry this year, which was 1.227 points ahead of 2nd place.

Congrats to all!

During the 2019 Deep Maroon Serenade, DCV Drum Major Katherine Greening shared her perspective on the band, why it means so much to her, and how you can help.

Each year the Dowling Catholic Band depends largely on donations made to the program at the Deep Maroon Serenade and through this Band Aid Campaign.

We are hoping to raise at least $52,000 in donations through these campaigns to purchase:

• a new sound system for the marching band
• 10 more marching uniforms to accommodate a variety of student sizes
• a second matching drum major podium
• an additional marching contra
• props for the marching show
• support for adjunct staffing who help our students prepare for competitions and ensemble performances

Please give prayerful consideration in helping DCHS Band through a contribution to our Annual Band Aid campaign. The link below is a secure online donation which goes directly to the Band Aid account at Dowling Catholic. Your donation is tax deductible.

If you would like to make a contribution the 2019 Band Aid Campaign, please click here.