Successful Band Camp Opens Blue Devils Season

The Huntington High School Blue Devil marching band is off to a strong start to the 2024 competitive camp. The group is coming off of two weeks of training including intensive daily camp sessions last week, which culminated in family show on the J. Taylor Finley Middle School athletic field on Sunday afternoon.

Andre Rizzuto is the band’s director with Mallory Martilla and Patrick Neary serving as assistant directors. Dr. Jason Giachetti and Patrick Neary lead the percussion staff. Nicky Boyle, Lacy McIntyre and Michael Reed comprise the field staff. Patrick Neary, Mallory Martilla, Kelly Neary and David Chavez Hernandez oversee the color guard unit.

Sam Soric, Lily Wasoski and Dana Saramago are this year’s drum majors. All three are longtime Blue Devil marching band veterans and they are enthusiastic leaders and articulate ambassadors for the organization.

The three drum majors all played key roles in the training sessions over the past two weeks and each of them noticed how their fellow musicians and color guard members grew as performers.

“As this year’s drum major, I’m very proud to have seen everyone’s progress in the last two weeks,” Mr. Soric said. “In years prior, we have never gotten this far and made the show a true performance. Through everyone’s cooperation in the hot sun, we were able to get further than ever before and not just learn the music and drill, but also the visuals alongside it. I’m very excited to see the progression of the season and watch the band turn into a family.”

Rizzuto expects the musicians and color guard members to total nearly 100 this year as the band continues to recover from the pandemic, which reduced the size of high school marching bands across the country.

“Band camp this year was incredibly successful,” Ms. Saramago said. “This year the HBDMB has the most complete and polished show after band camp it has had in years. The group is filled to the brim with talented musicians and it’s looking to be an incredible season with the hard work and dedication I’ve seen thus far. I'm so excited to see what the season brings.”

The musicians and color guard members who comprise the band are just as enthusiastic as their drum major leaders. The drum majors have worked extra hard to encourage everyone.

“So far the band has been really working hard and I am so proud of them for it,” Ms. Wasoski said. “You can really tell that they have been dedicating lots of time and effort into the show and it definitely shows. We're already ahead of schedule compared to previous seasons, and if the band keeps up this hard work we are definitely going to do well during the season.”

This year’s Huntington Blue Devil marching band features an exceptional array of young people.

Charlotte Cassatto is the brass captain and Charlie Michaelian and Felicity George are the clarinet section leaders. The flute section is led by Angelina Marcelino LaQua. Natalie Parrott is the saxophone section leader. Deandre Simmons is the drum captain.

Kellee Benitez leads the low brass/low woodwind section. Amalia Heinz and Daniel Simon are the pit section leaders. Toni Reyes-Sorto and Jasmine Cuaresma are the color guard captains.

First organized in 1934 by high school music teacher James Cloyd Doty, an Ohio native and Oberlin College graduate, the Blue Devil band is among New York’s oldest and most highly regarded.