The marching band, led by Director of Bands Mr. Christopher Vitale, is relying on new technologies and strong leadership to power its way to success this year.
They followed that performance by placing third at the USBands competition in Somerville on Oct. 11, competing against 15 other bands, according to trigonroad.com.
And last Saturday, the Marching Blue Devils took eighth place in the New Jersey State Championships at Rutgers University, according to whsbands.org.
The band’s performance includes a high-speed routine, capped by a display of blue lights from the band members’ hats, according to nj.com.
Said Vitale: “One big highlight is the use of LED lights in our show, which is something different for us and a concept that very few other groups have used. Our band receives ‘oohs and ahhs’ at every show when the lights turn on.”
According to junior saxophone player Andrew Natko, the competitions are exciting because the band performs for so many people.
Senior saxophone player Max Flysch added, “When we walk off the field, we can feel even prouder with what we accomplished, knowing that this is one of the hardest shows we have ever done.”
According to Vitale, the student leaders have continued to raise the bar by putting in an extraordinary amount of time outside of rehearsals.
He said: “I get to witness [students] entering the program as ninth graders with very little knowledge of what it takes to be successful in this activity. Those same students develop into mature, motivated, passionate and successful young adults that lead the marching band through successful seasons each year.”
The band will be competing in the Yamaha Cup on Nov. 1 at MetLife Stadium.