Lebanon County’s high school marching bands performed in front of hundreds of family members, friends and alumni at the Lebanon Middle School Alumni Stadium on Oct. 19 for this year’s marching band exhibition.
The participating schools were Lebanon, Cedar Crest, Palmyra, Northern Lebanon, ELCO, Annville-Cleona and Milton Hershey. Lebanon Valley College’s marching band also performed.
Emily Bray, a sophomore in the color guard at Palmyra, said she enjoys watching the other schools, which she said did a great job.
“I like to see the other schools and how they perform and how their color guard does,” Bray said.
From the hundreds of people in the crowd to the students in other bands, she said everyone was very supportive. They sat through each performance and clapped or cheered after each song.
Melissa and Shane Garland were there to support their son Benjamin Garland, a freshman who plays alto saxophone for Cedar Crest. They said they’ve been encouraging their son musically for his entire life, and moving from the Harrisburg area several years ago has opened up opportunities for him to develop.
“The amount of attention they pay to the arts and music at Cedar Crest is phenomenal, and the support, the teachers, the program as a whole, I think is unmatched,” Shane Garland said.
Other than seeing their son’s marching band perform, they said they came to see how the kids interact with the other Lebanon County bands.
“They support other schools, other bands, and we can see the artistic community that they’re a part of,” he said.
Between performances, attendees could stop for concessions, enter raffles, get photos with seasonal decorations and vote for their favorite band director.
One of those options was Andrew Spotts, Palmyra’s band director.
He said this was his band’s second-to-last performance — and probably their best one yet.
“They put a lot of work in over the last few weeks to clean things up, so coming into a performance like this where everybody’s there to see the bands, it just gives them a sense of energy that they normally wouldn’t have,” Spotts said. “This is a chance for them to see themselves in this environment where it’s about them. It’s about their performance and seeing each other and supporting the other schools in the county.”
The students typically play at halftimes during their high school’s football games, but the exhibition gave full attention to the marching bands.
For Spotts, the atmosphere of band performances is special, and that’s what draws crowds.
Andrew Herman, a Northern Lebanon High School alumnus, said he didn’t do marching band when he was in school, but he and his wife still come to the exhibition each year to show support.
He said it was enjoyable and the shows improve each time they come.
“Year by year they get a little bit better,” Herman said. “The longer they’re there, the better they’ll get.”
Lebanon County schools have performed in this exhibition since 2013, and the host schools rotate each year.
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