WARREN, Pa. – Throughout the school year, the YDL Sports Network will be highlighting different bands in District 9 and District 10 sponsored by TapNPay+.
First, a little about TapNPay+
TapNPay+ is a fundraising company located out of Pittsburgh whose motto is Fundraising made easy! Earn more funds in less time with nothing to sell, hand out or collect. Earning money for your club, team, or organization – not just sports but any organization – is as easy as signing up with TapNPay+ and downloading their app. Find out more at tapnpayplus.com
You can nominate your band here (It is not a competition, one nomination is sufficient)
See previous Bands of the Week
OCT. 4, 2023 BAND OF THE WEEK – COUDERSPORT
Band Director: Stephen Ouellette, Shelby Glassmire (Assistant), Rebecca Kenyon (Color Guard Instructor), Stephen ‘Opie’ Russel (Percussion Instructor), and Janel Weber (Band-Aide)
Band Members: 45
Student Leadership
- Drum Major – Tori Bock
- Drum Major – Brooke Tubbs
- Color Guard Captain – Mary Jane Sallade
- Percussion Captain – Sophie Taylor
Does your band compete? If so what class and in what competitions?
- We do two competitions a year. We compete at the Bradford Autumn Classic in Class 2A and at the Southern Tioga Tournament of Bands in Class 2A.
What is your theme for this season?
- The music of the Foo Fighters featuring the songs “All My Life”, “Monkey Wrench”, “Learn to Fly”, and “The Pretender.”
What is your school’s fight song?
- The Victors
What are some other tunes you play to hype your football team up on game days? —
- Land of 1000 Dances
- Bob, Crazy Train
- Havana
- Bad Guy
- Eye of the Tiger
- Dr. Who
- Gonna Fly Now
- Born to be Wild
- Shippin’ Up To Boston.
What does it look like for a band member under those Friday Night Lights?
- Performing under the Friday night lights is an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. It is one of the few things I look forward to when school starts and it is one of the few things I will truly miss after high school. The adrenaline, the excitement of the crowd, the build-up of nerves before we walk onto the field and do our thing is a rare experience that only marching band members truly understand. To have this experience almost every week during the fall is something I have never taken for granted and these six seasons have really gone by in a blur. – Brooke Tubbs, Drum Major
- Performing under the Friday night lights is a surreal experience. As I walk down the field, the feeling of adrenaline begins to build up, consuming me. I can see my breath form in front of my face in the cold air, yet the feeling of coldness is absent. As I wait to begin the show I scan the stadium. I see the student fan section and find my family huddled together. Just like that, the show begins and commences. 15 minutes gone in an instant, an out-of-this-world experience. Everything was a blur going by as quickly as it started. While exiting the field to go into the stands, I take a step back to observe the excitement of the kids is really what makes it all worthwhile. – Tori Bock, Drum Major
What are some traditions your band has?:
- Our band has an “Enthusiasm Chant” they say at the end of every practice and a few different chants for our various sections before they take the field.
- When returning to the school on a bus we always sing our school’s Alma Mater
What are some of the band’s goals moving forward? —
- We hope to keep building our program. In the past few years, we’ve gone from fewer than 15 members to over 40.
- More than anything I hope that the students within the program keep the tradition of taking new students under their wings and making them feel important within the organization going.
- Our directors get the biggest sense of pride seeing the collaboration and support the members of the band show each other.
Watch the Band
Band Pictures
