The Greater Latrobe Marching Band is full of soul, and it’s not just their music. The marching band, lead by director Mr.Sheridan, is performing a soul-filled halftime show. It is a very big shift from their show last year.“Last year was a more serious show,” said Mr.Sheridan, “This was definitely more fun and upbeat.” Some of the songs being performed are “Signed Sealed and Delivered”, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “Rescue Me”, “Respect”, “I’ll be There”, and “Soul Man.”

The performance is put together by 113 students, broken into three diversely talented groups: the woodwinds and brass, the color guard, and the drumline.

The woodwind and brass sections are comprised 5 smaller cohorts: the flutes, clarinets, trumpets, saxophones, and low brass. Each division has a captain. This years captains for the woodwinds and brass are Elizabeth Meier, Sarah Sass, Michael Lopata, Brianca Pal, and Richard Cane. The captains are also assisted by director Mr.Sheridan and assistant director Mr.Jordan.

The color guard, a very important aspect of the marching band, is lead by captains Olivia Douglas and Grace Rosenbaum. They paint a picture of each piece of music for the audience. “We add the visual with the dancing,” said Miss Richards, color guard director. “We are the color.” They add the color through the use of dance, silks, or rifle routines.

In addition, the drumline, supervised Mr.Rick Auman, provides the beat for the music. They are like the back bone of the band. This section includes bass drums, snare drums, tenor drums, cymbals, and many other percussion instruments. Josh Clevenger is the captain of this section.

Drum majors, Jazmin Farabaugh and Kayla Holsopple, receive the honor of standing at the head of the entire marching band as they lead them through their show.

Each group began rehearsing for this years shows before last school year even came to a close. Throughout the summer, the different sections met separately, for multiple hours, to learn their part in the performance.

On August 7, the entire marching band came together for two weeks to pull all their parts into one.  Band camp, as it is better known, was a time for students to learn the fundamentals of marching, the music, and the drill that goes along with it. The students worked from eight in the morning to three in the after noon each day. “It’s a lot of fun,” said Mr.Sheridan. It was also a place for students to learn how their section fit together with another. They also learned to trust one another.  “We learn to become a team. Learn how to work as one,” Mr.Sheridan said. Some ways that this camaraderie is built is through playing games and bonding activities.

“Seeing our four grade levels grow together not only as a group but as a family. I love that,” said Marianna Schrack, president of the band. Marianna is assisted by her VP Stephanie Scalamogna.

Even throughout the school year, the marching band works to perfect their every step and note. “I’m always super focused on trying to improve each time we perform,” said Schrack. Their improvement can be seen each week at the football games and in every performances. “No matter what happens, I’m always proud of everyone because we all work so hard to do our best,” Shrack said.

The band not only gets us pumped up every Friday to cheer on the wildcats, they also perform in band festivals and local parades. Most band festivals have anywhere from five to twenty different bands from high schools all over. Each band performs their halftime show.  Many of the parades that the marching participate in take place right in downtown Latrobe. Some parades included are the Halloween, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day,and Fourth of July parades.

In all, the band memorizes and performs any where from eight to ten songs a year for both their halftime shows and parades.

This Spring the band will be traveling to New Orleans where they will embrace the roots of their music and show off their hard work. It will be a five day trip and include performances by the band and tours of the city for the students to enjoy. Some places included in the trip are the Mardi Gras World Performance Museum, a live jazz cruise, a plantation swamp and bayou tour, plus much much more.