Monday, September 26, 2011

Congratulations to the Marching Band!

This weekend the marching band participated in a competition at Norwin and did very well. I will share the email that I received from the band director David Cornelius explaining the details of the results of the competition. Before I do that, I just want to make a point of how important I think creativity is for the education of all students. No matter what your field of study or career is, the power of creativity enhances your technical skills. Creativity is most obviously conveyed through the arts but can also be applied to any activity you undertake. I want to make sure that all students at every level of ability and age have the opportunity to let their creative side shine through. This can be in the classroom, the athletic field, or through music. Congratulations to the band and here is the email explaining their accomplishments from this weekend.

On Saturday, September 24th, the Penn Trafford High School Marching Band participated in the Bands of America Regional Championship, which was held at Norwin High School.  Our band was one of 15 that performed in the preliminary round, that also included other bands from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina.

In the BOA Regional Championship format, the top 10 bands from the preliminary round advance to the Finals, based on score.  Our marching band had an outstanding performance and earned the right to advance and perform as a Bands of America Regional Finalist by finishing in 6th place overall, 2nd in Class AA, and also earned the Outstanding Music Award in Class AA in prelims.  This is the first ever caption award earned by our marching band at a Bands of America Regional event.   It is noteworthy that our band placed 4th overall in the music performance caption out of the 15 bands.  The only bands that scored higher in music than Penn- Trafford were Norwin, James Madison HS (VA), and Bridgewater- Raritan (NJ).

Our students had an energetic and emotional performance that earned them 7th place at the Finals competition.

I could not be more proud of our students and how they rehearsed, performed, and carried themselves throughout a rather exhausting day that started at 8:00 AM and ended at 11:30 PM.  They represented our school with the class, dignity, and excellence that we expect from our students.

Lastly, our marching band has been asked to play at Heinz Field on Sunday, October 9th, as the Steelers play the Tennessee Titans.  The students will have the opportunity to perform outside the stadium before the game, as well as perform on the field at pre- game as well as at halftime.

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