The Huntington Band Parents Association will host marching bands from Walt Whitman, Floral Park, Hicksville, Sachem, Levittown Division Avenue, Malverne, Brentwood and Huntington and the Free Players Drum and Bugle Corps this Sunday (October 6) at the Blue Devil’s annual Home Show. Performances will begin at 12 noon on the turf athletic field.
The event includes many of the top competitive bands in the state, which are working to improve their show scores prior to the New York State Field Band Championships in the Syracuse Carrier Dome later this month.
Huntington residents are welcome to attend the show. Tickets are priced at $8. All proceeds generated from the show will be used to support the Blue Devil band program and scholarships.
One of the day’s highlights is sure to be the performance by the Free Players Drum and Bugle Corp, a special needs drum corps from Old Bethpage.
The Blue Devils are three-for-three this fall, winning first place at all three competitions it has entered. It will attempt to keep that momentum going next weekend.
Jennifer Low, Michael Reed and Robert Jean-Gilles are this year’s Blue Devil drum majors. Andrew Knowles is the field major.
“I really like the way our band is going this season,” Mr. Jean-Gilles said. “Everyone is putting in so much effort and it truly shows. Overall, we’re having a great time.”
The band is scheduled to march in Huntington’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Memorial Day Parade in 2020.
“Since the first day of band camp everyone has been working hard to put on the best show possible,” Mr. Reed said. “We are on fire and will continue to climb for the rest of the season.”
The Blue Devils finished second at the state championships in 2018. The band is known for its high musical quality, excellent arrangements, creative color guard choreography and powerful percussion arrangements.
“We’re only three weeks into the competitive season and I’m already so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish,” Mr. Knowles said. “I’m super excited for the band to keep getting better and better as the season continues.”
The band was founded in 1934 by Huntington High School music teacher James Cloyd Doty, an Ohio native and Oberlin College graduate. The band boasts thousands of alumni over the past 85 years.
Blue Devil marching band staff
Veteran district music teacher Brian Stellato is the Blue Devil band’s director with Patrick Neary acting as assistant director. The staff also includes Derek Schmelter (battery instructor), Christopher Wink (brass instructor), Mallory Martilla (lead color guard instructor), Kelly Neary (color guard instructor), Frank Battista (miscellaneous instructor), Dan DeOliveira (miscellaneous instructor), Jason Giachetti (pep band director), Corina Antonucci (pit instructor), Jennifer Schmelter (visual instructor) and Katherine Adams (woodwind instructor).
“Disruption” is 2019 field show
The 2019 field show is titled “Disruption.” It features musical selections that include Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Hans Zimmer’s The Kraken, which was popularized in Pirates of the Caribbean.
The show features the band playing Swan Lake, only to be “disrupted” and to veer off to Night on Bald Mountain before returning to Swan Lake before being disrupted again toward The Kraken before returning once more to Swan Lake.
Band student leadership
The band’s student leadership includes flute section leaders Molly Kessler and Natalie Ciccone; clarinet section leaders Neil Jean-Baptiste and Catherine McCooey; alto sax section leader Carrie Kilgour; low brass section leaders Zubair Ali and Michael Mathews; mello section leader Aileen Lopez; trumpet section leaders Nathan Musso and Jose Suarez and tenor sax/baritone sax leader Miles Tierney.
Nathan Musso will serve as the brass captain with Neil Jean-Baptiste as the woodwind captain. Oskar Kilgour has been named the battery captain. Peyton Kalb and Natalie Furman will lead the pit section. Kyra DeSalvo and Jasmine Clark will be the color guard captains.
Band Parents Association
The Band Parent Association’s executive committee consists of Matthew Stanley (president), Robert Conte (vice president/color guard liaison), Kim Gooding (co-treasurer), Debbie Knowles (co-treasurer), Banassa Jean-Gilles (recording secretary/co-head chaperone) and Dominque Stanley (corresponding secretary/list-keeper, band news).
Members at-large include Jack Malone (co-head roadie), Ruth Musso (co-head roadie), Adam Levine (co-head roadie), Leslie Glascock (co-head chaperone), Jen Spina (co-fundraising chair, sign-up and volunteer coordination), Nancy Levine (merchandise chair), Debbie Ciccone (assistant merchandise chair), Peggy Low (public relations), Ivy Soric (Finley liaison), Darin Reed (historian/archivist), Nevin Soric (website administrator), Tom Holly, Sandi Furman, Tracy Tucker and Leslie Kilgour.
Jennifer LaVertu is the band’s uniform coordinator and Karen Wong is the assistant uniform coordinator.
Competitive Schedule for 2019
The band’s remaining regular season schedule includes:
Saturday, October 12 at Sachem High School
Sunday, October 13 at Arlington High School
Saturday, October 19 at Mineola High School
The New York State Field Band Conference Championships are scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, October 26-27 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
