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NAPLES — During a Saturday night about music and the camaraderie it builds, Lely High School’s 19th annual Tournament of Bands fell silent just once.

Wearing outfits ranging from Estero High School’s all-Americans to Immokalee High School’s ancient Egyptians, leaders of each of the 14 competing bands stood at attention on the football field at the end of the night, waiting silently to hear who won what.

Each award earned a practiced cheer and twirl, with Estero earning third place overall, while Immokalee secured third place in its division.

But the night — and the right to break the military tension — went to Miami Killian Senior High School, which drove its 107-member band across the state to put on a mesmerizing, Japanese-themed performance that began with tai chi and included its own portable bridge.

John Stein, who teaches the music classes at Lely and helped organize the tournament, said the competition aims to be both serious and fun for the ensembles.

“They get judged on a national level,” Stein said. “This is a big deal for the bands who want to be here.”

As each group performed in turn, ATVs with tractor beds hauled xylophones and drums on and off the field, and attendants waited by judges to whisk away the latest audio and written critiques.

Immokalee’s drum major, Veronica Perez, agreed that it was intense at times.

“I was scared at first, and then when I was up there, it was just like, ‘Let’s just do this,’ ” said Perez, whose costume channeled Cleopatra. “And I just put all my energy into the show.”

Her band also earned honors for its auxiliary, which includes Immokalee’s rifle-throwing color guard.

Estero won awards for music performance, visual performance and woodwinds.

The night was bittersweet for Lely seniors Rebekka Valdez and Annie Shannon, members of their school’s color guard. It was their fourth, and final, chance to be part of the show.

“It was exciting, and sad, too,” Shannon said. “Just marching in with the band one last time.”

Lely, as the host, doesn’t compete, but concludes the show with its own performance, and also hands out awards.

While the event was originally intended to be a fundraiser, Lely’s band booster club president, Debbie Carabba, said it’s more about the cultural experience now: Parents swap stories with other band moms, and the students get to see and meet groups from across the region.

Carabba has helped with the tournament for the past eight years, as her children took their turns at Lely.

But her second child, Alexandria, graduates this year, and Carabba said she’ll miss the show: “I hope it goes on for another 19 years.”