This year was the 11th annual Greenville County Exhibition, and there was much to behold at this event. One such thing was the Hillcrest Red and Black Brigade, one of the fastest-growing organizations at Hillcrest. The bands are put in order of size, and Hillcrest was second-to-last to play at the exhibition. The entire band is proud of how far they have come. 

For many members of the band, this was their first performance other than halftime at home football games- a taste of what competitions will be like. Nervousness and excitement buzzed through the band. The crowd was in awe of how big the Hillcrest band had grown. 

Lila Heuvelink, one of the clarinet section leaders, stated that she felt the growth of the band has really begun to shine in our performance. She was extremely pleased with the performance. 

Mrs Rugerio, an English teacher at Hillcrest, came to the exhibition in support of the Hillcrest band. She has no prior band experience, however, she has seen the Red and Black Brigade perform a couple of times and loved the show. After speaking with her about the performance, she had very good things to say about the 2023 show. “It was great to watch everyone’s hard work be put together,” she told me. “It was just a great show.” 

Even the new people were able to recognize how well the band did as a whole. A freshman saxophone player said that though the exhibition was nerve-wracking, he felt that his performance was good and that the band did very well. 

This exhibition is the start of a very exciting season for the Red and Black Brigade. Their competition season starts on the last Saturday of September and they have been hard at work preparing for their first competition.