The Pride of Paoli Band’s season began with two competitions, the first at Westfield High School on September 7 and the second at Spring Valley High School on September 28. At Westfield, the band won their class with a score of 60.20 and took home caption awards for Outstanding Music, Visual, and General Effect. Last Saturday, the band won Grand Champion at the Springs Valley Invitational with a score of 69.55 and won Best Percussion, Visual, General Effect, and Music awards.
The theme of this season’s show is “Inside the Circle,” which explores the abstract concept of circles and consists of four parts. The opener is titled “360,” the second “On the Inside,” then “On the Outside,” and the ending “No Beginning, No End.”
The music in the show includes “The First Circle” by Pat Metheny and “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell, which are the main pieces of music the show is built around. The show includes soloist seniors Christian Longest, Rylee McKenna, and Arah Brinkman.
One of this season’s show designers is 2008 PHS graduate Andrew Muth.
“We are really lucky to have Andrew Muth, a former member of the Pride of Paoli, as one of our designers. He shares in the desire for our current students to do well and succeed so that is why he agreed to come on board to help us design our show. His insights have helped in creating a fun and exciting show that challenges the students, pleases audiences and provides opportunities for competitive success,” said Director Chris Karkosky.
While at PHS, Muth was the band’s drum major, earning three state titles, and is currently the director of Westfield Bands.
“Twenty-two years ago, I stepped on the field with The Pride of Paoli for the first time. Over those 22 years, I have filled a wide spectrum of roles with the band from saxophone player to drum major, online staff, music arranger, and program coordinator. It feels great to return with The Pride of Paoli for my 13th season. Paoli will always have a special place in my heart and being a part of their success is tremendously important to me,” said Muth.
The road back to working with Paoli was straightforward.
“This winter I reached out to Karkosky to see if they were looking to take things in a new direction. I told Karkosky about my passion for Paoli and how I felt like my design team at Westfield High School could help bring Paoli back to the top of Class D. Ultimately, we were able to create a unified vision of what Paoli in 2024 would look like,” said Muth.
This season, the Pride is led by two drum majors, junior Cannon Lambdin and freshman Vanessa Thacker. Both participated in marching band last season, but this is their first year in a leadership position.
“Our first few competitions went great,” said Lambdin. “We are already off to a great start, and already back to where we ended last year. Everybody’s morale is up. I hope everybody continues to do an amazing job.”
The band began their ISSMA competition at Jasper on October 5 and earned a Gold rating with Distinctions in Music, Visual, and Effect.
The Pride will next compete in Evansville for the ISSMA Regional on October 12.