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Health & Fitness

Blue Devil Marching Band Honored by BOE

The Huntington Blue Devil marching band was honored this past Monday night for a job well done. Huntington School Board members recognized the band for a second place finish at the New York State Field Band Conference Championships and for being “wonderful” representatives of the district and community.

Band members, their parents and advisors packed the Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School auditorium for the trustees’ public meeting. A 90-second video of the band’s performance in the state finals at the Carrier Dome was shown on a large screen, drawing sustained applause at the end.

“The amount of work that these kids and staff members do and the quality of the show they perform each year speak for themselves,” Superintendent James W. Polansky said. “This year, even during the band’s initial performance following camp, the potential for them to perform and achieve at the highest of levels was clearly evident. The group understands the significance of hard work, camaraderie and commitment.”

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The band’s longtime co-directors are Jason Giachetti and Brian Stellato. With Mr. Stellato under the weather Monday night, Mr. Giachetti had the honor of giving a brief summary of the season and introducing some of the band’s student leaders, including drum majors Megan Boyce, Brian McConnell and Matt Rosenbauer and field major Mike Stafford.

Band members and advisors spent many months mastering this year’s field show, “The Planets,” featuring music by Gustav Holst. The Blue Devils finished first in four separate invitational competitions this fall and placed second in two others. The band marched in the Unity in the Community Day parade and the Homecoming Day parade and also performed during halftime of many varsity football games. It even provided entertainment during the Huntington High School pep rally in September and performed an exhibition at its home show in October.

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The Huntington Blue Devil marching band began its season over the summer and put in more than 300 hours mastering 66 sets of drill, 282 measures of music and 878 steps on the field and counts of color guard work. 

Trustees were effusive in their praise of the Blue Devil band’s commitment and dedication to excellence. More than 100 parents and community members in the audience this past Monday night gave the band members a standing ovation for their remarkable season.

 

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