The 42nd annual Hart Rampage saw crowds of people clapping, cheering and enjoying the performances of 31 high school marching bands and color guards from across Southern California and one from Nevada on Saturday at College of the Canyons’ Cougar Stadium.
Hart Rampage, which is hosted by Hart High School, also featured performances by local school bands from Castaic High School, West Ranch High School, Saugus High School, Golden Valley High School, Valencia High School and Canyon High School.
Four of the local schools competing won their respective divisions: West Ranch in Division 5AA, Canyon in Division 4A, Valencia in Division 3A, and Castaic in Division 2A.
The energy was electric when the local schools took the field performing their 2026 programs.
Kelvin Flores, director of instrumental music at Valencia High, said he thought of the idea for Valencia’s program back in January, and bringing up the somber idea to some of his staff – unsure of how it would be received.
“I have kind of this more grim idea, but I don’t know if it’s going to be well received or not, and they said, ‘Well, just tell us what it is’ and so, I said, ‘I’m thinking of a show, not about death, but about how we respond to knowing that we are finite in this universe, that one day we will have an end, that we will not be here, and that our journey on this Earth is going to be gone. Like, how do we respond to that,’” Flores said.
He recalled people tearing up at the idea, immediately thinking of emotions people feel about the concept.
The emotions they landed on were anxiety, avoidance, anger, anguish and acceptance.
Flores said the inspiration came from an experience he had with a parent who was an active volunteer and suddenly was absent, talking to the parent about why, and the parent saying to Flores he was dealing with his son taking his own life.
“I think that kind of inspired me a little bit to (understand) how do we respond? Sometimes some of these emotions are very natural. Some of them, I don’t know, it just felt right,” Flores said.
Joaquin Lopez, a 10th grade drum major at Valencia, called the show deep and talked about how it felt applicable to parts of life and death itself.
“The anxiety that comes with it. The avoidance that we often take to kind of not have to feel that pain. And then the anguish that does come, and then the anger that we feel, and resistance against it, and then finally, our last movement, acceptance,” Lopez said. “And I think it’s more about just the concept of death. I think the show is really applicable to a lot of aspects of our lives. And I know, at least for me, I can apply it to certain points in my life. And it really feels like the whole band has done the same.”
Juris Lim, a 12th grader and co-captain of the Valencia color guard, said she thinks the reason people enjoy seeing the performances is because it is niche and different.
“Like, there’s obviously cheer and dance and other stuff, but something that makes people gravitate towards this is just how different we are, because we’re out here spinning rifles and random flags,” Lim said. “So, I think that’s really unique. And I think it’s a chance for people to be able to make a community with (and) just be different and try something new.”
Mark De La Vega, instrumental music director at Canyon High, decided to do a Japanese-inspired program, calling it “Shiki Nogi.” He said that he did some research on Japanese culture.
“So, we learned about what are some common Japanese tropes, and this is an opportunity to teach these students about a different culture, a different people, and we’re celebrating that through their music and different imagery,” De La Vega said. “And the soccer entry, the cherry blossom tree is a well-known Japanese symbol. So, we use that concept to be our vehicle.”
He said the main piece of the show is about a soccer retreat that goes through the four seasons, starting with summer, fall, then going into winter, and it ends with spring after a tumultuous winter.
“So, there’s different colors that happen throughout the show. We have the images of the tree on the field. You can see them on the field, and we have some Tori Gates representing the spiritual aspect of the Japanese culture,” De La Vega said.
De La Vega and Flores both said they began prepping the programs with their students around June to July.
Pierre Ashdown, a 12th grader and drum major at Canyon, said it meant a lot to see the program come together, especially as a drum major because he could see the progress from beginning to end.
“It’s really meaningful to know that all of our students can come together and create something like this, especially making it so meaningful and putting so much thought into the emotion behind it,” Ashdown said.
Lucas Nolan, a 10th grader and a mellophone section leader at Canyon High, said his favorite part of being in the band is that it gives him hope for the future students that join.
“It’s just like that feeling of it’s going to get better throughout the years. And I could see the culture being built,” Nolan said.
Karen Daniels, chair of Hart Rampage, said she thinks people come to Hart Rampage because of how supportive the community is.
“I think bands just want to come and be part of the Rampage experience, because it really is an experience, and with all the bands, and watching all the performances, and cheering everybody on, I mean, I really like it,” Daniels said.
She said her son is the reason she got involved in the band community and that she loves being a part of it all.
Local band scores
The local bands’ scores were listed as follows:
- Hart: 90.40, highest score of the day (performed in exhibition as event host).
- West Ranch: First in Division 5AA, 84.40.
- Valencia: First in Division 3A, 77.70, and first in every category.
- Canyon: First in Division 4A, 74.00.
- Castaic: First in Division 2A, 70.70.
- Golden Valley: Third in Division 5AA, 82.30.
- Saugus: Third in Division 5A, 77.55, and second in music.
Four of the six William S. Hart Union High School District bands that competed won their class.
