Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of stories about high school marching bands from across the Juniata River Valley.
MIFFLINTOWN – Brad Eargle, director of the Juniata County Marching Band, predicts no alien invasion at Dietrick Field this year.
But the Juniata County Marching Band’s field show this fall – called “To infinity and beyond” – with its extraterrestrial flair will surely make fans look to the stars.
“This year’s show is based on a series of space-related pieces,” said Eargle, who is co-directing the marching band this year with Megan Russell, East Juniata High School’s new music director. Eargle is the longtime music director at Juniata High School.
“We begin with Strauss’ ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’, which most people know as the theme song from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’,” added Eargle. “We also do music from ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Star Wars’ as well as the Blue Swede hit ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ as a nod to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.”
Eargle said the marching band tries to vary the themes of its shows, so members play many different types of music during their time in the group. Last year, the band played Broadway tunes and the year before was largely pop-oriented, so Eargle tried to use sources from film and television when putting together this year’s show.
There are 69 students involved in the band, including drum majors Fiorella Berbergi (senior year) and Kennedy Seigler-Lewis (third year), a number slightly lower than normal.
Back to Berbergi and Seigler-Lewis, who are experiencing their first season as drum major. “They have settled into their roles well,” said Eargle. “They are great examples of the attitude and dedication we expect from our band members, and they work well together on the field to make the band function as a unit.”
The band members undergo strenuous rehearsals during the summer months to prepare for the upcoming season.
“The students have worked really hard over the summer to prepare for the show and are ready to do a great job,” Eargle explained. “There is some difficult music, especially in “star Wars” And “Star Trek,” so we were able to really get the kids to grow musically over the summer to meet those challenges.
“At the start of the season, it is always exciting to see how music and images come together to create a show that people enjoy,” he added. “The students have set themselves quite ambitious goals for this year’s show in terms of fundamentals and stage presence and I think this will make for a really fulfilling season for them.”
The marching band opened its season at band camp, which was held in late July and early August before the fall sports teams held their practices. This way, the fall sports athletes could play sports and participate in marching band without conflict.
“Apart from the usual heat and humidity, the camp went really well,” said Eargle. “We did most of the show practice in the first week and then refined the music and some of the more difficult sets in the second week.”
He added that band camp is used not only to learn drill and music, but also for team and culture building. During these two weeks, marching band members really come together as a group to prepare for the upcoming season.
The Juniata County Marching Band performs before home games and takes the field at halftime at away games.