At the Midwest Clinic, the OpenMarch team met Randy Nguyen, band director at Citrus Hill High School, and learned about a competitive season that required his program to rewrite their show mid-season and adapt quickly.

We asked if Randy would like to share his experience with OpenMarch, and he kindly accepted!

Introduction

Hello, my name is Randy Nguyen, and I am the band director of the Soaring Legacy Band and Color Guard at Citrus Hill High School. We are a small program that competed in SCSBOA’s 1A division this past season. This marks my second year teaching at Citrus Hill, and I truly cannot express how honored and grateful I am to serve as these students’ director. 

This year, we set an ambitious goal: to qualify for the SCSBOA 1A Championships. The students, staff, and I poured our hearts into every aspect of the show. From the beginning, I made it a priority to be deeply involved in the design process. Using arrangements of “Pure Imagination” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and “Imagine” by John Lennon, we titled our show “Dream of Unity.” The theme reflected the culture of our band—one built on belief, hard work, and unity. Throughout the season, I consistently reminded the students that with hard work and belief in themselves, nothing could stand in the way of achieving our goal. 

The Situation

As the students continued to push themselves and outwork expectations, I felt an increasing responsibility to deliver effective rehearsals and raise the standard for our program. One of the major challenges we encountered was drill design. This year, we chose to hire a drill writer to create custom drill tailored to our performers and the show concept. While the drill writer was talented, there were several instances where drill was delivered minutes before rehearsal—or not delivered at all—and often did not align with the shared vision discussed in our meetings. It became clear that if I wanted our vision to fully come to life, I would need to make edits to the existing drill and, in many cases, write entirely new sets myself.

The Solution

As a new band director, I had never written drill before and did not know where to begin. That is when I discovered OpenMarch. Their free drill-writing software, combined with accessible YouTube tutorials and a supportive Discord community, provided exactly what I needed. Through those resources, I quickly gained confidence and skills that made me feel like a seasoned drill writer. OpenMarch truly saved our season. I was able to write and revise drill efficiently, print dot sheets for my students, and finally bring my creative vision to life on the field. 

Because of OpenMarch, my band not only qualified for the SCSBOA 1A Championships for the first time in our school’s history—we earned a medal, the first ever for our entire school district. To say that I am proud of my students is a profound understatement. None of this would have been possible without OpenMarch. 

OpenMarch did more than provide software; it felt like having an extended design team supporting me every step of the way. I am deeply thankful for the platform, the community, and the impact OpenMarch has had on our program. I cannot recommend it enough to any educator looking to empower themselves and their students.