By Philip Haldiman
Mail | X: @PhilipHaldiman

Nearly 20 high school marching bands from throughout the state will descend upon Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria for the Third Annual Sounds at Sunrise marching competition, 3 p.m. Oct. 17.

Every Peoria Unified marching band will perform except for Cactus High School. The first Peoria Unified school goes on at 5 p.m.

The Sunrise Mountain High School Marching Band Booster Club is hosting the event, with nearly 100 volunteers coming together to make it happen.

Booster Club parent Emily Saeteurn said the competition is made possible due to generous donations from a variety of organizations and people.

“We are excited to be hosting the Sounds at Sunrise for our third year. It is incredible to see the hours of practice turn into an amazing performance. Marching band kids create magic on the field, and we can’t wait to see bands from all over Arizona perform at our competition,” Saeteurn said.

The event will bring together student musicians, color guard performers, directors, families, educators, alumni, and fans from communities throughout Arizona, where audiences will have the opportunity to watch each band perform and compete for scores and recognition from a panel of experienced adjudicators.

This event is an Arizona Marching Band Association competition, which uses quality adjudication that follows national standards and trends, integrating contemporary marching arts design and technology.

“Our mission is to promote a progressive and contemporary approach to the marching arts through the use of continued adjudicator training and integration of technological advancements,”according to the Arizona Marching Band Association website.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.