(Photo courtesy Katie Servas)

By Katie Servas – Editor-in-Chief

The Jonathan Law Marching Band is bringing it back, ready to perform an explosive halftime show this year.

There are many exciting performances for the Marching Band. Their first performance this year will be in the Connecticut Day parade at the Big E on September 16. 

The band has also been preparing their halftime show for the first home football game in a few weeks.

“This year I’m looking forward to my first year actually marching in the halftime show,” said junior Isabelle Maselli. “I’m excited to see the places we get to go to share our music especially since COVID has mostly cleared up with restrictions.”

The Marching Band hasn’t been able to perform a full halftime show since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many students are unfamiliar with the process of building a show and executing it by the first home football game.

Newer members of the band, such as the freshman, were welcomed into the process early on with the help of band camp. Throughout band camp, they were learning music and how to march while playing and starting to become comfortable with their new school environment.

“I felt anxious about coming to a new school and finding my classes but being a member of the band has eased my transition into high school,” said freshman Abigail Jenkins. “During summer band rehearsals and band camp, I was able to meet new people and explore different aspects of the school.”

Band camp was a great opportunity for new members to learn their way around the school and be welcomed into a community that will always be there to support them.

“The start of my freshman year has definitely been very stressful but the band is so welcoming and helpful especially when I need something,” said freshman Melissa Servas. “They continue to talk to me during the school day even if it’s just a simple ‘hi’ in the hallway.”

The ability to have a group of people who are familiar with one another before starting the academic year was proven to have eased the transition back to school. 

Many returning members of the band have been looking forward to the start-up of the concert season and Jazz Band.

“This year, I am really looking forward to the concert season,” said senior Jacob Swenning. “One performance, in particular, I am very excited about is performing for the Jazz Band because I had a great experience last year and believe I will have an even better experience this year.”

The Jazz Band has participated in a handful of festivals over the past year and plans to continue to throughout the year.

There are many performances that will allow tremendous growth within the band over the course of the school year and many members have set goals for themselves to achieve.

“My goal this year is to become a better trumpet player,” said junior Hayden Chetwynd. “I hope to have a successful transition from a brass instrument to percussion between the Jazz and Marching Band.” 

Chetwynd is one of the handful of members who participate in multiple music ensembles. Branching out into the Jazz Band has granted him the opportunity to learn new instruments and become a stronger and well-rounded musician.

“This year I think I have already gotten so much better as a musician, said Maselli. “I’ve had a great role model, Bridget Dywer, to watch and help me grow, and hope I can have that effect on the younger people in my section this year and next.”

The veteran members have clearly shown their dedication to the music ensemble by taking the lead within their sections and providing guidance to younger members.

“If I could give an underclassmen advice it would definitely be to ask for help,” said senior Chelsea Abbey. “I’d also advise practicing on your own time if you have it because you’ll be able to prepare yourself for events and you’ll be able to focus on what you need to improve on.”

Band Director Mr. Pelaggi plans to improve the performance of the band’s concerts, parades, and marching shows.

“I have been incorporating some new strategies in my ensemble classes by breaking down my scores in different ways,” Pelaggi said. “When I think about the theory behind our music more, I understand it and the music better, and I can teach it more efficiently.”

This year the band has welcomed a new member, Michael Barile, a student teacher who’s working toward a degree in music.

He will be starting by taking over two of the music technology classes and theory classes first, to then moving on to ensembles and running rehearsals on his own.

“It has been an interesting new experience and so far has been a really cool process for me,” said Pelaggi. “I’ve been much more critical of my teaching because I am being viewed as an example for a teacher every time I am in front of students.”

Barile has been a great addition to the band community and has shown much talent within the music department.

For the first time, a member of the Jonathan Law High School Band has been chosen to perform in The All-National Honor Ensemble Concert Band.

“Noah and I, (a member of the Foran band) are the first musicians from Milford to ever make it to Nationals,” said junior assistant drum major Christopher Rickard. “I want to represent Milford and Law well, I look forward to performing with such a talented group of musicians, and I look forward to meeting new people.

Rickard spent hours rehearsing the piece “Sonata” for Euphonium with the help of Dave Pelaggi and private instructor Art Hovey.

The band will be performing from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., on November 6 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, in Washington D.C.

This is an incredible opportunity for Rickard that will allow him to experience a new dynamic of musicians and perform in the country’s capital.