The North Royalton High School Marching Band showed itself to be one of the best units in Northeast Ohio this year. The band brought home a number of awards by participating in various competitions.
Director of Bands at North Royalton High School, David Vitale, said he was pleased with the effort put forth by the students.
“We got a plaque of participation from our own band show. We went to the Revere competition, we took third place in Class Double-A and best auxiliary in Class Double-A. We went to the Avon Lake competition where we got second place in Double-A. In the Swanton competition, we came home with a slew of trophies. We got first place in Double-A, best overall visual, best overall general effect, best overall percussion, Grand Champion overall.”
“I am so proud of our band students and all they accomplished this season. They put a ton of time and effort into everything they achieved and accomplished,” said Band Director Chris Burdick.  “They are an incredible group of students and an absolute joy to teach and work with. The band’s tremendous performance at state finals was epic!”
The Band wrapped up the season with a successful competition in Columbus. “At the OMBA State Marching Band finals, we received a superior rating overall,” said Vitale.
Besides the boys and girls in the band, there are plenty of ‘behind the scenes folks’ and staff members who had to put everything together coming back from COVID. They contributed to this year’s success.
“Many people don’t realize that band members put just as much time into their shows as football players do. They attend band camp, they’re practicing in the summer heat. We’re working in all kinds of weather conditions. I think this was a successful season. We’re really happy with all of our accomplishments,” said Vitale.
“We’re happy to be back to that true North Royalton Marching Band experience of competitions, contests and going to state finals that so many alumni have enjoyed. Those are some of their favorite memories of High School,” said Vitale.
Don’t think that the band gets to take the rest of the school year off. Vitale said members keep on practicing their craft.
“We are now in our concert season mode. We are now performing indoors. We are getting ready for our annual holiday concert, which will be held Sunday December 19 and Monday December 20. Tickets are on sale on the band’s website,” said Vitale.
The band is looking forward to performing the “Sounds of the Season” for patrons. “This is something that we didn’t have last year. This is new to the entire freshman and sophomore classes because there were no holiday concerts last year because of COVID. We’re excited to be able to provide this to the community, students and band families,” said Vitale.
Another aspect of playing in a Marching Band of the size that North Royalton has is blending individual sounds together and playing as an ensemble. “It’s tremendously difficult to do over zoom or over remote. It’s really a year-long process to get everyone on the same page,” said Vitale.
“It was amazing to watch our band put in so much hard work, and to watch it pay off at every contest we went to. It was an honor to work with and lead this group of hard working and talented individuals to another superior rating at the state contest,” said Senior Field Commander Tony Cottom.
“A lot of work has gone into making this marching season successful. It would not have been possible without our incredible band directors and all of the pit crew and uniform crew volunteers. I am very thankful for the amazing group of people I have worked with during this marching season,” said Band President Brendan Burdick.
While other Marching Bands across the state have seen a decrease in size because of COVID, that’s not the case in North Royalton. “There are some communities that have seen their marching bands drop in size by 50 percent. We’re excited that North Royalton is still marching 230 members, and how great a tradition of excellence the band program is. We’re still the largest student organization on campus. We’re one of the largest marching bands in the state,” said Vitale.
By JOE JASTRZEMSKI
Contributing Writer