The Panther Marching Band wrapped up another successful season filled with wins and memories. This year, their field show was “When The Forest Calls,” lead by drum major, Danny Finlayson, assistant drum major, Abby Boone, woodwind co-captains, Jaelyn Taylor and Morgan Lee, brass captain, Dan Juszynski, color guard co-captains, Kylee Welzig and Ava Geiser, and percussion captain, Luke Somers. The show tells the story of an innocent character, played by Ei Saugling, as they get captured and led into the forest by mellophone soloist, Mazie Mitchell, and the ensemble through a series of 3 movements. 

PMB practices began at the end of June, where they had two weeks of practice-free downtime right after school ended before the fun started! During the two week band camp, they began learning music and work that would be implemented into the drill They additionally started developing the fan-favorite cheese show, a simple performance before the actual show. This year, it was Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which included the infamous funk dance, where members drop everything and do a dance break. The cheese show debuted in late August at the first football game of the season, where Quakertown went against Southern Lehigh. They performed it for two more weeks before finally premiering the field show.

On Saturdays from the end of September to the beginning of November, PMB competed at various competitions across the region. Scores include an 82.2 at CB South, 83.0 at Perk Valley, and 86.4 at North Penn. At those three competitions, they placed first in Group IV Open. On September 24th, they hosted their very own competition at Alumni Field On the 22nd of October, they competed at the Pennsylvania State Championships and returned home with a score 91.0, .1 points away from first place. On November 5th, they competed at the USBANDS National Championships at MetLife Stadium and received a score of 89.75.

I reached out to director as well as middle school band director, Mrs. Urquhart, to reflect on this season. To describe the season in one word, she used the word grit, stating that “The members of the 2022 PMB showed SOOOO much grit this season. We certainly faced obstacles, but I truly feel that all members were passionately committed to our task.” Her highlight of this season was the MetLife championship performance. She commented that “It was our best performance of the season and I felt that each and every member gave their absolute best and didn’t leave anything on the field. Knowing how hard we worked to successfully perform like that was immensely gratifying.”         

Drum major, Danny Finlayson, mentioned his goal for his drum major season was “to make all members feel welcome and build community inside our amazing ensemble.” He went on to say, “…throughout the season section bonding and ensemble bonding were a great priority because if everyone feels welcome, we can achieve at a higher level.” Danny said that an interesting aspect of this season was “the urge to constantly break the average tendencies and grow to be a better band. Everyone had the drive to learn and get better.”                                                                                                                                                               

Even though the season is over, the fun never stops! PMB will be branching out into their indoor seasons. Indoor Color Guard will be beginning this winter fresh off their third place win at championships in April. The Jazz Band will start back up again soon ready to conquer another season. Finally, indoor percussion will be starting again for another successful year. Make sure to see all of these talented performers in action!

Their dedication to this program will never end and will continue onto next year. The next generation of PMB members are going to carry on the legacy of this hard-working group. As a member of this spectacular ensemble, I am proud to say I have learned so many lessons to carry on into my life as well as have made amazing friendships that will last a lifetime.