The students who participate in the Weehawken High School Marching Band take on a huge responsibility. It’s far more than just playing the trumpet or waving a flag. The commitment is much larger.
Simply for their love of music – and perhaps for a little camaraderie and teamwork – the students dedicate months of their school year to mastering their musical skills.
Considering Weehawken High School is such a small school, many of the band’s members have other extracurricular commitments.
Take, for instance, senior Nicole Hegarty. As soon as school is over, Hegarty is off to soccer practice. But after the soccer practices and games are done, Hegarty heads to Arricale Field three nights a week for band practice as a drummer.
“It can get a little hectic, going from one to the other,” Hegarty said. “It gets rough sometimes, especially when I’m tired after a long day and still have to do homework.”
Adriana Machado and Elizabeth Kallert are members of the Weehawken varsity tennis team. But after tennis practice and matches are completed, their work isn’t over, because both young ladies play the saxophone in the band.
“It does take a lot of time and effort,” Machado said. “But I feel it’s worth it.”
“It’s crazy,” Kallert said. “Running from tennis practices and matches, then to band practice. It does get a little trying, but after a while, I got a routine.”
Marching band director and music instructor Steve Spinosa credits the efforts of the kids.
“They work extremely hard,” Spinosa said. “They give everything they have. It takes a lot for them to be there three nights a week, after soccer practice, after volleyball, after tennis. They come straight to band practice in their athletic uniforms. That’s how dedicated they are.”
They’re also obviously pretty talented as well, because the Weehawken High School Marching Band has enjoyed a successful band season, performing a routine called “La Plaza Del Sol,” which is a mixture of Spanish music from Spain that one might hear at a bullfight.
“We sat down with the seniors in August and thought about what kind of music we wanted to perform,” Spinosa said. “They wanted several different themes, like a cartoon theme or a movie theme. But when someone mentioned Spanish music, we ran with it.”
Added Spinosa, “It’s challenging, not just the content of the music, but it’s a challenge to be able to play quality while marching to a drill design. We draw figures on the field and ask them to follow along while playing the music. Everything has to be synchronized. It takes a lot of timing, with the drill design, the music and the dance elements of the color guard.”
After rehearsing for months, the Weehawken marching band was ready for their competitive tour of New Jersey.
The competition
They started off by participating in the Hasbrouck Heights Invitational and took second place there. A week later, it was the Midland Park Festival Under the Stars, and Weehawken took home first place, defeating host Midland Park, Waldwick and Hasbrouck Heights.
Then, they traveled to Randolph High School for another competition and took home second place in that event.
A week later, the kids from Weehawken found themselves competing on the field at Giants Stadium. In years past, the marching band competition at the great venue was cancelled due to the playing surface being damaged by the Giants and Jets.
But since the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority decided to put the artificial FieldTurf material down on the playing surface this year, the competition was finally held.
“I was really excited, because I’m a Giants fan,” Hegarty said. “I watch the games all the time. I couldn’t believe I was on the same field that the Giants play on.”
“It was almost surreal that we were actually out there,” Kallert said.
“It was the first time that I’ve ever been at Giants Stadium,” Machado said. “Every other time, it was always cancelled. It was an overwhelming feeling. I had to pinch myself once we started playing and marching.”
Spinosa said that playing Giants Stadium was like playing the Carnegie Hall for marching bands.
“It is a huge competition,” Spinosa said. “Just getting invited is a thrill. We’re in the competition with the best bands in New Jersey, like Lakewood, West Windsor Plainsboro North and South, Glen Ridge, Cherry Hill West and Francis Scott Key High School of Maryland. We just wanted to hold our own.”
Weehawken managed to finish among the top bands in the Group I category for smaller schools with lesser band members.
From there, they went on to the Bloomfield High School Invitational, where they competed against Irvington, Westwood, Hackettstown and Bloomfield.
The smallest school in the competition did more than compete. They won.
“We won everything,” Spinosa said. “We took first in visual performance and first in music. The color guard was first. It had been four years since we won that tournament. They did a great job.”
Needless to say, the band members were thrilled.
“It meant a lot to me,” Machado said. “We all wanted to win that competition again. We all get along so well, so that helped.”
“I wouldn’t trade this feeling for the world,” Kallert said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
“It’s a great feeling, because we’ve all been doing this, three days a week, two hours a night,” Hegarty said. “To finally win something is really fulfilling and very rewarding.”
Hegarty said that the style of music really helped the band come together.
“With the Latin music and beat, everyone got into it, especially the crowd,” Hegarty said. “It was exciting. I really liked the theme. I think it helped us all. It’s so good to know that all we did finally paid off.”
Spinosa said that the band paid tribute to the late Annette Nunziato, the former special education teacher who was a big supporter of the band during her 17-year tenure at the school. Nunziato passed away last month.
“Annette was a huge part of us and a great friend,” Spinosa said. “The kids got together and decided to dedicate their performances to her. It was funny, but every time the band has performed lately and the announcer reads the introduction about us, her name is read as assistant band director. We sent those introductions in long before the season began. It’s a nice gesture to hear her name. She was a big supporter to us.”
It’s safe to say that the band’s biggest fan is smiling somewhere today at their recent string of successes.