The Cinnaminson High School Marching Band ended their season this past Sunday with an impressive performance at The College of New Jersey. The team finished fourth out of 12 bands in the NJBDA Championship after securing a first-place victory earlier in the season at Kingsway Regional High School.

With 10 total senior graduates, this year’s marching band consists of 37 members, including several seniors who do not have vast music experience. CHS band director Dr. Nicholas DiSalvio said he values their role on the team and explains how they strengthen the group as a whole. 

“We got them playing and reading music, and they are a very important part of the group as well as the returning members,” DiSalvio said. “We just try to make sure we have the ability to give anyone a great opportunity.”

While senior Bentley Bramhall acknowledges there have been some challenges due to the team’s growth over the past two seasons, he said he thinks the group is adjusting well. 

“Last year was definitely a learning curve, as we had a lot of new staff, we had a lot of new band members, and I think this year we are really starting to come into our own in this new layout,” Bramhall said.

Senior Warren Berenbrok also highlights the importance and benefits of having a larger team.

“We did get some new staff members this year, but I think each of them really adds to the team. I think we have a really strong staff now, and I feel like they will be able to guide newer members in the future,” Berenbrok said. “The current way we are doing leadership will work long-term as well.”

Everyone can be entitled to their own opinions, and a leader’s role is to ensure that every member of a team stays open-minded. Senior Aiden Underwood acknowledges that sometimes people may have a different point of view, which can be a challenge. 

“The way I want to see a cast done is not the way that someone else in the marching band would do. I am thinking very efficiently, someone else may think of a more creative way to do something,” Underwood said. “Especially as a leader, you are not telling someone what to do, that’s not what the leader’s job is. The leader’s job is to guide the person and the others on what to do, and show them a better way to do something rather than telling them to do something.”

Entitled “The Witching Hour,” this season’s theme featured a clock on the field that would strike 3 am (indicating the witching hour) at each competition. Additionally, the color guard’s costumes showcased band members as “witches.”

Marching band is a group effort. Unlike some other sports where there is an emphasis on individual contributions and performances, marching band involves all members of the team working and collaborating together – in harmony. Berenbrok underlines the significance of everyone’s participation and commitment. 

“Every member is pretty much equally important. Like if someones not there, that’s like a hole in the field,” Berenbrok said. “So it’s really important that everyone is committed to it, and I think that really is happening.” 

Despite the amount of competition against other schools and the desire to win, DiSalvio was impressed by the support of other schools’ teams.

“Obviously the kids want to win so when they go to the competitions I’m sure they got some of that going on in the back of their mind,” DiSalvio said. “But when it comes down to being in the stands afterwards when awards are being given out, every band just hangs out with each other and having fun and cheering for their own group but also being respectful to each other.”

As a leader on the team, Underwood said he sees the enthusiasm and dedication each member puts in at the band’s practices and competitions. 

“People know what they’re doing now. It’s more of an “I want to be here” rather than “my mom made me do this,”’ Underwood said.

As only a second-year member of the band due to the pandemic, Bramhall said he regrets not joining earlier in the past years. However, he said he is still grateful to be part of the team’s chemistry and belong to a tight-knit group.

“I guess I was a little afraid to get out of my comfort zone that year, but if that is the concern for anyone, I would just advise them to go and do it,” Bramhall said. “It’s a really supportive group.”