The marching band is a great way for students to socialize, learn and get leadership. As the 2023 season for marching band approaches and auditions coming up, many new students are joining, along with seasoned band members, eager to advance their position by trying out for leadership.
Sophomore Sydney Williams has done marching band for two years and wants to join leadership.
“I applied for leadership this year because I really enjoy band and I want to be a bigger part of something,” she said. “The process for applying was pretty simple, all you had to do was fill out a google form and answer a couple open-ended questions to help judge if you could be a potential leader.”
Being a part of the marching band opens up many opportunities to students, giving them a chance to socialize and letting them meet new people. There were parades such as the Halloween parade and different volunteer opportunities students could sign up for. Students were also able to play their instruments and do stand dances in the bleachers which allowed students to socialize and talk with each other.
Sophomore Noel Blanchette enjoyed having that time to spend with his peers.
“My favorite part of the marching band was playing in the stands during the game,” he said. “It was fun playing our instruments as a way of cheering on our team. I also felt like it was a good way to socialize with others.”
Everyone that is on band front has to re-audition for their spots again. This can be done in person in front of the band front directors or a video can be sent in. Some students are fine with re-auditioning while others wish their spot on their team was secured.
Sophomore Ella DiBonaventura thinks the band auditions are a good idea, but admitted the system could be difficult to work with.
“I think it’s important to have people try out so they make sure they deserve a spot on the team,” she said. “I also think that it’s a great way to try the skills that the other teams do. Although, I think that it can be a little stressful having to learn three different routines and retrying for your spot.”
While many students are returning to the marching band, there are also new students that will be joining.
Sophomore Julia Martin decided to audition for a spot on band front.
“I want to join the marching band because a lot of my friends do it and there seems to be a lot of fun opportunities for me,” she said. “I’m excited for the Orlando trip next year and overall just being able to learn something new and socialize.”
For the next band season, students will go to band camp starting August 21 for a week. This allows students to meet everyone who is doing band and learn the new pieces.
Sophomore Zoe Likely enjoyed last year’s band camp, even if it could be hard at times.
“Band camp was tough but overall I enjoyed it,” she said. “It can be tiring and it’s really hot but I really like meeting new people and I think everyone does a good job at making it a fun experience.”
With high expectations, Mr. Pignataro is looking for his leaders to be “really selfless” this coming season. He said that he needs students who are willing to devote their time and effort to working behind the scenes of the marching band.
“We’ve done everything we could in the past few years to get the ‘big picture’ down, and I think we have the big ‘big picture’ down,” he said. “We’ve shown in the past few years that we can be successful, but what we need to do now is work on the small things.”
