Trumbull High School Band

The Trumbull High School Marching Band will be collecting new coats, gently used coats, hats, gloves and scarves for their third year on behalf of Good Morning America’s Warm Coats & Warm Hearts Drive. Over the last two years the band students have collected thousands of coats during this annual drive. All items collected this year will be donated to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission who will distribute to those with need in our communities. The drive will run from November 23rd to December 23rd. Drop off boxes can be located at the following locations:

Porricelli’s
Town Hall
Main Library
Nichol’s Library
Long Hill Fire Station #3
Trumbull High School
Middlebrook Elementary
Daniel’s Farm Elementary
Hillcrest Middle School
Jane Ryan Elementary
Frenchtown Elementary

The Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band (THSGEMB) is the Musical Arts Conference Class V Champions. In front of a record breaking crowd at Kennedy Center in Bridgeport, THSGEMB scored 98.70 last night, the second highest score ever given by MAC, and won outstanding percussion, color guard, marching and general effect and tied for music. The win was the culmination of a perfect season for the band with their 2010 repertoire “Concerto”, featuring Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s ‘Piano Concerto no. 1′and The Prayer Cycle Movement III Hope.
Keith Emerson, of Emerson, Lake and Palmer fame, and the composer of much the band’s award winning music, sent the students and band director a message early in the season wishing them well with their rendition of his piano Concerto. Immediately after the bands win, Emerson posted the following message to the band and then again on his Facebook page, Twitter account and on Youtube. “Congratulations Everyone! I am beyond words for your success, that’s why I write music. If you heard me sing you’d understand that I am so proud of you all! Next time I’ll get on the piano and make it spin around.- Keith Emerson

The Musical Arts Conference is a coalition of music educators that have formed a non-profit organization, in order to create a professional and educational outlet for high school ensembles to compete in. MAC is made up of bands from Connecticut, New Jersey and New York and is divided into six classes with Class V being the largest. With 144 musicians and color guard members, THSGEMB competes in Class V and is also the 2006 and 2007 Musical Arts Class V Champions. Competing in the Class V category with THSGEMB this year was New Milford, Brien McMahon, Port Chester, New York, Newtown and Norwalk.

The 144 musicians and color guard members spent the day rehearsing Saturday and celebrated with a band family barbecue. After the dinner break, the students had a private moment with no parents or instructors present, where they reflected on the season. Prior to boarding the buses to head to championships, the students had a very emotional sendoff in the band room with luminaries, balloons, posters and music presented to them by their families.
THSGEMB began working on the show in the middle of August. For two weeks, the band practices from 9am to 9pm and then three times a week during the school months putting in countless hours under the direction of Band Director Peter Horton, assistant Band Directors Thomas Whitmoyer and Carman T. Dragone and Color Guard Caption Head Ray Rhodes.

Although the marching band season has concluded, THSGEMB will play at the grand re-opening of the Trumbull Westfield Mall on Friday, November 19th and march in the Stamford Parade Spectacular on Sunday, November 21st. They will also play at the Trumbull High School versus St. Joe’s football game on Wednesday, November 24th. In December the band is headed to Florida to march in the 30th annual Orlando Citrus Parade, the nation’s second largest sports-affiliated parade, and play in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
Thank you to the THSGEMB students, parents, and staff for a memorable season! And thank you to the town of Trumbull for it’s generosity and endless support of the band. This win’s for you!

The Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band (THSGEMB) took first place again at Jonathan Law High School this weekend in the Musical Arts Conference (MAC) Class V competition last Saturday. THSGEMB scored a 95.40 and won all the caption awards which include Outstanding General Effect, Outstanding Marching, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Color Guard and Outstanding Percussion. Their 2010 repertoire is Concerto, featuring Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s ‘Piano Concerto no. 1′and The Prayer Cycle Movement III Hope.

Trumbull is headed to Norwalk High School this Saturday, November 6th, at 8pm to compete in the last regular MAC competition of the year. THSGEMB will then head to MAC Championships on Saturday, November 13th. More information and details will follow! Go Eagles!

The Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band held their 28th Annual “Fall Classic” on Saturday, October 2nd. It was a superb day of marching, music and merriment. A glorious sunny day added to the festivities and the 13 high school bands from the tri-state area delighted the crowds. THSGEMB performed their show “Concerto” in exhibition to a packed audience filled with parents, friends, family band alumni and Trumbull residents who continually support the band. The band’s performance was spectacular and the crowd’s reaction to the show was nothing less than astounding. In addition, THSGEMB’s 26 seniors were honored for their participation, leadership, and dedication to the band. All in all, it was an incredible day that will be etched in the memory of all who attended.

The success of the Classic is due in part to the cooperative effort of the THSGEMB staff and parent organization that volunteered their time and worked tirelessly for several months. You made the band and the town of Trumbull proud. Thank you to each and every one of you who volunteered! You all “played from the heart”!

A special thank you to:

Classic Co-chairs – Diane Pikikero and Teresa Carter

THSGEMB Band President – Pat Drzal

Committee Chairs
Admissions – Barbara Whetstone
Air Grams – Margaret Walsh
Announcer – Tom Foth
Field Crew –Bob Hesse
Food – Bill Hess
Judges Food – Elin Loh
Merchandise – Debbie Berkowitz
Parking – Rudy Granata
Photographer – Kevin Katske
Program Book – Jenn Pacelli, Lynn Granata
Publicity – Trista Morin
Reception – Kathleen Gibson
Runners – Sharon Steere
Script Writer – Mary Ellen Jones
Sealed Tickets – Debbie Volante
Security – Tom Touri
Set-Up/Clean-Up – Pat Mahoney
Souvenirs – Lane Whitmoyer
Treasurer – Theresa Bulan
Videographer – Cindy Katske

Trumbull High School will host its annual Golden Eagle Marching Band “Fall Classic” on Saturday, October 2nd. This year, 14 bands from the tri-state area will compete for top-honors in this Musical Arts Conference (MAC) event. The 135-member strong Golden Eagle Marching Band has already garnered top honors at early competitions this season and looks forward to performing in exhibition at the end of the day. Their program this year is entitled “Concerto”, featuring Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s ‘Piano Concerto no. 1′and The Prayer Cycle Movement III Hope. The band’s rendition of the music makes this a bold and captivating show.

The gates to the Fall Classic open at 4:30pm with the National Anthem played by the Hillcrest and Madison middle school 8th grade band students. Admission is $5 for children, seniors and students k to 12 and $10 for adults. High school band’s ranging in size from 35 to 150 members (including band and color guard) and will then compete in four different MAC classifications. Trumbull is in the largest class, Class V when competing. THSGEMB is set to perform in exhibition at approximately 9pm and is led by band director Peter Horton and assistant directors Thomas Whitmoyer and Carman T. Dragone.

For more than 25 years, the Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band has been known throughout the United States as one of the nation’s finest marching bands. They have had the privilege of performing for three of the last four United States’ Presidents, most recently at the 56th Inaugural Presidential Parade, in Washington, DC. In addition, the band performed at the Hollywood Christmas Parade in Hollywood, California, Disneyland Main Street Parade in Anaheim, California and was featured with a live remote on ABC’s Good Morning America Warm Coats &Warm Hearts Coat Collection Drive where the band had collected thousands of coats for the needy.

On the eve of marching band camp, my daughter said “What time do I set the alarm clock to die?” She had been saying for days that she didn’t know if she could do this – this big commitment called Marching Band. As I gulped in fear, I asked why. The number of reasons she gave me were too many to list. As the mother of a three-year band veteran, I knew in my heart this was going to be a wonderful experience and one of the best things that would ever happen to her. She just didn’t know this yet. I waited anxiously day one of band camp to see how her day went and I felt bad for her as she climbed into the car exhausted and with a rash from her saxophone strap. I could clearly see she was not quite convinced this band thing was something she would enjoy. After all, it was a heck of a lot of work and many long hours. Day two and three brought an allergic reaction to her sunscreen and a shoulder that was sore. This was not helping the cause. Still, I said “keep going, this will all get better, you’ll see. I promise!”
Out of fear, I stayed away from band camp; but, the two wonderful ladies who ran the operation kept a special eye on her. I have to confess I even had a few friends send me a text message to tell me she was looking happy and was marching like a pro. Then, on day four, she turned the corner and magic happened. She came to the car looking fine and her frown had now turned into a smile. Yes! I said to myself silently. Needless to say, she now knows, although she probably can’t put it into words, what others have known before her. It might have something to do with the camaraderie, the sense of pride and self-esteem they feel, the many hours with over 100 new friends; or perhaps it is a magnetism that is indescribable. Whatever it is, we know it’s a great thing and my daughter is now officially a Bando for the THS Golden Eagle Marching Band.
I am so blessed to watch both of my children march and perform for this outstanding band. My son is a senior and this is his fourth and final season and he will be out there on the field with his little sister, the freshman, who will follow in his footsteps reaping the rewards and feeling the joy he has known for three years. For a mother, it is a dream come true. Now as I watch her on the field, my heart is bursting with pride. She has already grown in ways too many to list.

By Susan Gooden

Fighting to keep our stance is what we have been trying to do since we first won first place. This week our competition was at Newtown High School. There were ten other guards competing in our group fighting for that first place trophy. With our heads held high we didn’t let those 10 guards scare us. Once we warmed up and were in line for the show was when the butterflies kicked in. I don’t know why but every time we go to a show I still get butterflies in my stomach even though I have done the show so many times before. As Trumbull filed into the gym and I placed my flags on the mat I felt that sense of “can do” rush over me. The music started and my nerves began to calm down as I when through the show just like I do during practice. But all of a sudden, the music just stopped… We all kept on counting and tried to relax but the judges flagged us to stop. Due to an audio error we had to start our show all over again. Total déjà vu in the beginning of the show, doing it over again. When the show had finished the judges had smiles on their faces and were nodding. I was happy with my performance and felt like we had all done a great job.
Later that evening while sitting in the stands of THS watching my brother perform at the Percussion WGI regional show I receive the most wonderful text message….. We had won FIRST PLACE. I was so happy. Tonight Trumbull’s AA guard had won first place for the third time in a row. It was not be chance or by luck, it was because of the way we performed. To make the night complete, World Guard and my brother’s percussion ensemble won first place too. What a fantastic evening!

~Rachael, AA Guard

Over this past weekend all of Trumbull’s band competitors won 1st place in their competition. I’ll admit that practice for the Guard was a tough and hard, but after seeing the look on everyone’s faces was worth it in the end.
We arrived at New Milford High School just as the Percussion was packing up. We started getting ready for warm-ups and headed down to the warm-up area. We began doing basic block and reviewing work. No one said anything during the time, tensions were high knowing that not only was family in the stands, but some of the world guard instructors.
We walked down to a waiting space before our performance. While waiting for Masuk to finish the cheers and screams for their shows were overpowering and nerve racking. Some of us started to question if we would be just as good or worry if we would mess up. The director overheard us talking and reassured us that we had been doing great all morning and this would be no different.
They called us out and we headed out to perform. It’s hard to really explain how it feels to do a show. Its five minutes that’s all about your team and what you can do, but during that five minutes your trying to focus on the changes, the counts, pointing feet, and smiling at the same time. The last nine counts of our show is tiring, but it’s the one we are most proud of.
Back in the classroom we start to relax and talk about how we think we did, most of the time it’s a mixed reaction, but nobody had dropped in our show making us excited for the upcoming awards.
When they started calling out awards we all were hand in hand, right over left just like the past years. They called 5th then 4th and 3rd, but they hadn’t called Trumbull. It was us vs. Masuk. We gripped each others hands and were quiet. The judge announced that 2nd place goes to Masuk. We all smiled, they called Trumbull for 1st place.
We were thrilled and excited about taking first place. I was actually very proud because it had been abut a year and a half from the last time we won first place. On the ride back to Trumbull the bus was a singing all songs from Replay to “Don’t Stop Believing”, it was a great ending to a great story.

Amber, Freshman, THS AA Guard