The Panther Marching Band has come to an end after a long season; however, the break will be short, due to the upcoming performances from the symphonic and jazz bands.
The season was lengthy, and players in both the football team and marching band will finally get to rest—for a day or so. Many of the band members have moved on to other performance ensembles, and many of the football players have moved on to winter sports.
“I think that we’ve really come together as a leadership team, and we’ve been able to get the band running back in August, and we had a great season,” drum major and senior Henry Reacher said. “My freshman year, we barely had a season. In fact, I was on Zoom basically the whole time, and we didn’t have any games because of COVID. I think that ever since then, we’ve been performing so well, and I think that it’s gotten better every single year.”
The symphonic, modern, and jazz bands opened for auditions, with recorded auditions due in early December. The modern and jazz bands have their auditions last, due to the majority of players also being in the marching band, meaning they have less time to prepare for their concerts and performances.
“It’s not the end of the world, because I’ve designed the program to make sure it’ll be fine,” music teacher Mr. Nick Pignataro said, who is leading the performances in the upcoming December weeks.
Pignataro said he considered the extra long marching band season to be a “blessing” in some ways.
“If anything, it’s really given me some time to think through the repertoire for wind ensemble and symphonic band,” he said. “It’s given me a chance to really think about the music, make sure all the folders are ready, and we’ll be good to go.”
Two jazz bands will be performing for Haven this year, leading to more rehearsals, and also more concerts, which also doesn’t bother Pignataro.
On November 30, FOX29 came to Strath Haven to do a live broadcast story on the football team alongside the band, just before the final playoff game of the season.
Pignataro does not expect another live broadcast on local news this year, but he did tease another possibility. “We’ve been talking with the Eagles to see if we can get a performance going maybe before the end of the season,” he said.
On November 18, Haven sent students to audition for District Band at Rustin High School. For those who participated, this was a new experience, either not being eligible for auditions because of their age, or doing it online because of COVID.
“I think District Band is a really great opportunity for some students around here in the school because it offers kind of beyond the symphonic band of the orchestra here,” junior Quinten Saylor said.
This is Saylor’s second year making the District Band.
“You’re kind of surrounded by a bunch of people who also want to be there,” he said. “I think District Band will definitely lead me to a couple opportunities, and it’s a nice thing to put on college application stuff.”
