High school marching bands and color guards from throughout Hudson and Bergen counties got a chance to show what they can do in front of an appreciative audience of other high school band musicians, parents, and friends at the Second Annual Weehawken High School Marching Band Festival on Sunday, Nov. 14 at Weehawken Stadium.
Last year, the first Weehawken Marching Band Festival was the brainchild of former Weehawken High School Band Director and current Assistant Principal Steve Spinosa, who wanted to create an event to spotlight the full range of what high school marching bands can do “aside from parades and football games.”
He said he was inspired to create the festival when his mother heard his Weehawken high school band performing more complex songs than they typically played at games. She said, “I didn’t know you could do that.”
The bands were from throughout Hudson and Bergen counties.
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A chance to see what other bands can do
The festival audience showed they were impressed by the performance of the Paramus Catholic High School Marching Band, especially after hearing that the school’s band program had only been in existence for about three months. While the festival is an exhibition, not a competition, the bands still receive extensive commentary from judges.
Leticia Diaz, a senior at Weehawken High School and a member of the Weehawken High School Marching Band, said the festival format offers “all the benefits of competition without actual competition” and is a great chance to “get to know other bands.”
This year, the field expanded to seven units from five the first year. Each band performed a program approximately 20 minutes long, of two to four songs.
As the hosts and founders of the festival, the Weehawken High School Marching Band performed last, delivering one of the most elaborate, ambitious musical programs of the afternoon. The title of their performance was “Behind the Mask,” and it included music from the superhero films Batman and The Incredibles as well as from Phantom of the Opera and Zorro. They closed with a rousing rendition of Danny Elfman’s iconic main theme from the 1989 Batman film as the sun began to set, creating one of the more memorable moments of the afternoon.
In addition to the typical marching band instruments, the festival format allowed the Weehawken High School band and some others to incorporate more stationary instruments such as electric bass guitars, timpani, and xylophone. This added a lot of drama to “Behind the Mask.”
Heather Danchise, a senior at Weehawken High School who played the bass guitar at the festival, said she enjoyed the non-competitive festival because it involved “less pressure” and was more “laid back.” Like a lot of band members at the festival she enjoyed the chance to “meet a lot of people” also in high school bands.
Steven “Pee Wee” Muraca, a xylophone player for Weehawken High School said the festival was a chance to “see different bands and different styles of music.”
Eric Deamer can be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com.