The field lights were shining brightly, the turf at Quaker Stadium was vibrantly green, and the summer evening weather was perfect for the kaleidoscope of color and sound that filled the stadium at the 44th annual Tuscarawas County Band Preview August 31.

Guest bands included Strasburg, Newcomerstown, Indian Valley, Claymont, and Garaway, with New Philadelphia serving as host band.

The 32 members of the Strasburg Marching Tigers took the field first, with plenty of applause when announcer Gary Petricola encouraged the Strasburg followers in the stands to “stand up and be recognized.” They were promptly followed by the Newcomerstown Marching Trojans, and their 54 members belted out September, by Earth, Wind, and Fire, along with other selections. The crowd cheered as it was announced that the band had received $30,000 from the Reeves Foundation to purchase new concert band and percussion instruments.

“We have 12 in the guard, 13 in the percussion line, and the rest of our 67 members are brass and woodwind players,” said Indian Valley Marching Braves assistant director Melanie Glazer, as she waited with color guard members to take the field. “We participated at the Garaway band preview last Saturday night, and our first game this Friday night is our first home game, against Claymont. We’ll be doing our beach-themed halftime show. Let’s just say there are sharks involved. We’ll leave it at that,” she chuckled.

The Braves gave a special show featuring music from The Lion King in honor of their upcoming trip later this year.

“Next spring, our choir and band are leaving to go to Disney World,” continued Glazer. “The band will be marching in one of the parades, so that’s really exciting. We had a great summer. We started the last week of July, and then had band camp the first week of August, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. We had a really successful band camp, and got a lot of stuff done. Now it’s time to get out in front of the audience, and show them what we’ve been working on.”

The Claymont Mustangs stepped out to I Wanna’ Rock and Roll All Night, as the crowd sang along. Petricola noted that drum major Cory Cartwright was the first drum major at Claymont in the last 40 years, a fact to which the fans clapped wildly in response.

“This is my fifth season with the color guard,” noted advisor Farrah Raines, a Claymont graduate herself. “It’s neat to see how they’ve grown from the very beginning, at band camp, until now, and how excited they get for the performance. This year, we have 12 color guard members, up from four last year, and we are actually featuring them. This is their year. We have new flags and uniforms, so we’re very excited. This was always my dream. When I was a senior at Claymont, I thought how exciting it would be to come back and actually coach, and here I am.”

Betsey Sigrist, a Garaway Pirates majorette, as well as part of the color guard, entertained the crowd during Dynamite and I Love Rock and Roll, with all 52 band members enthusiastically participating, before host school New Philadelphia moved onto the field for the grand finale.

“Our show is a tribute for our trip to Pearl Harbor this December, where we’ll be representing Ohio,” noted band member Michaela Ricciardi.

“Our entire show for Pearl Harbor will be based around that fateful day,” added field commander Jordan Wherley, who shares responsibilities with Abby Riggs and Katarina Sprankle. “Tonight we’re doing two of those pieces.”

New Philadelphia band director Jeff Furbay was happy that the weather, unlike that in 2010, cooperated.

“The weather’s great, the bands are great. Tuscarawas County has great bands, and everything is just fantastic. Last year, not so much, because it was pouring down rain, and that was a little rough. But tonight the skies are good, and the bands are good. It’s just a fantastic evening.”