FLEMING ISLAND – Oakleaf and Orange Park Highs have traditionally proven to be two of the best marching bands in Northeast Florida because they don’t just put on halftime shows. They exhibit productions that take nearly a year to create.

Both bands excelled at the Golden Eagle Classic last Saturday with entertaining and intellectually challenging performances.

Oakleaf’s Class 5A and overall championship-winning performance was called “Alchemy: Devine Chemistry.” Orange Park’s “Immortalis” was a playfully dark yet enticing effort that included coffins and bandmembers rising from their lying positions that helped them clinch the top Class 3A honor and second in the overall voting.

“There’s a lot of bands that will go out there and they’ll play ‘Earth, Wind and Fire’ and call it a day, or their show was basically ‘these are three songs that we like,’ and there’s nothing wrong with that,” said Oakleaf Band Director Chad Robbins.

“But for our program, we’re very competitive, and it’s become a mixture of music, theater, dance. All of these elements for the high-level programs are trying to push the envelope, so it’s an intellectual production. And it can be overwhelming for people stepping into that field for the first time and wanting to go to that level.

“There’s nothing wrong with going out, performing something for the football crowd that they enjoy, and then stepping off the field. But our students luckily buy into this and enjoy it. They thrive on it. They look forward to what our next production is going to be.”

Oakleaf’s show was 10 months in the making. Robbins heard a song called “Lux Aurumque” by Eric Whitacre about alchemy – transforming base metals into gold.

“I really liked the concept of gold, and at first, I thought about maybe a show that was called “Tarnished” and what we could do visually and musically with that where we have that kind of light and dark play on gold,” Robbins said. “Then all of a sudden in my research of gold, I found the word alchemy, which I knew nothing about at the time. Then I started to watch videos and read and do a lot of research and it became this really deep, super in-depth concept or idea that I knew a show could be built around it.”

Oddly enough, the Golden Eagles didn’t use “Lux Aurumque” in their production. Instead, they played songs Chris Cresswell, Jacob Collier and Coldplay, Fallout Boy and Ennio Morricone.

“It was kind of the overarching theme and concept, so it took several months of planning, designing and editing and finding the right music for that,” Robbins said. “That it took several months to kind of get all those things in place.”

And it’s a production that’s constantly being tweaked. Robbins said Oakleaf will make a few minor changes to the show before it performs at the Band of America competition this Saturday in Orlando. That competition attracts many of the premier bands in the eastern United States.

At Fleming Island, the Golden Regiment finished first in music, visual, general effect and color guard. They also were second in percussion.

Orange Park was third overall in music and percussion, second in general effect, color guard, visual and first in drum major.

Unlike sports, classifications for bands are set by the number of musicians, not the student population.

Like Oakleaf, the Raiders’ production started with a basic idea more than eight months ago. Band Director Brett Pikuritz said the modern approach is to design a theme and then find music that fits.

“You have to consider all the things that would make a really engaging, artistic show,” he said. “Then you have your music written, so all this is happening over the summer. And then you have your drill written – the drill is what you see as far as the formations on the field where the student performers are standing.”

Hundreds of hours are spent working and perfecting the concept before the first note is played. The routine then hits the field during a summer band camp.

“You start getting the kids together over the summer and doing summer rehearsals,” Pikuritz said. “We start in June and do a new member camp where we welcome the new members in and train them how to march, hold their instrument, and play their instrument at a solid fundamental level. And then we give them off a little bit of time over the summer, and we come back together at the end of July.

“There’s usually a pretty intensive two-week camp, known affectionately as band camp. It’s like 12-, 13-, 14-hour days. It’s a lot like our two-a-days for football.

“Nobody notices how much has happened before the first day of school.”

“Mortalis” is Latin for immortal, and it includes vampire lore. Orange Park’s show included Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” “Dido and Aeneas” by Henry Purcell and The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black.”

“I like to put some older classical music along with some newer contemporary music,” Pikuritz said. “I think it creates a good balance for the performers and for the audience.”

The Raiders will host its first band competition on Saturday. They expect as many as 16 bands.

All bands will be at Bartram Trail High in St. Johns County for the state assessment competition on Oct. 28. The state championship is Nov. 11 in St. Petersburg. Orange Park finished second to Hialeah-Miami Lakes last year.

While many band directors are trying to finish the year on a good note, some are already working on next year’s competition.

“It just depends on what kind of product you’re putting together,” Robbins said. “It takes a lot, for sure.”