In the Fall I had the chance to spend the entire day with Middletown High School South’s Marching Band, or the Screaming Eagles. These teenagers are not just musicians, but very skilled athletes. I have never been more amazed by a group before. The Screaming Eagles are not just a marching band, but instead a beautiful, close-knit family. I was lucky enough to be able to peer into this family’s lifestyle for one day.

The Screaming Eagles is split up into three main groups. There is the marching band, color guard, and the pit. Michael Raguseo as the head director of the Screaming Eagles, Nicholas Jupinka as the percussion instructor, and finally Morgan McGrane and Erika Hallenbeck as the color guard instructors; the Screaming Eagles could not have a better team in charge. Each section within the marching band has its own student leader.  The marching sections are Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax, Low Winds, Low Brass, Mellophone, and Drumline. Their section leaders respectively are Elyse Stanziale, Cassandra DeShong, Allie Asaro, Sally Bonecki, Sophia Bonecki, Natalie Cuoccio, and Antonia Costa. The section leader for the pit is Tim Vallancourt. Lastly, the color guard leaders are Isabella Cruz and Samantha Walla.

On a cool Fall weekend  I left my house at 9:00 a.m. sharp, to get to MHSS, so I would be early. “To be early is to be on-time, to be on-time is to be late, and to be late is just unacceptable,” is Mr. Raguseo’s mantra.  After a quick stop for coffee with a few band members, we headed to school.

Mr. Raguseo arrived to unlock the band room “on-time,” and it was a mad dash to assemble instruments and line up to march to the field. “Band ten hut! Mark time march! Forward march!” Mr. Raguseo shouts. James Montgomery begins to tap out a beat on his snare, and the rest of drumline follow suit. The Screaming Eagles began to march to the beat, always starting with the left foot. They all march in time, and occasionally chant while carrying their instruments down to the football field.

Once they arrive to the field they begin their two hour practice. Elyse Stanziale and Andrew King run the brass, woodwind, and percussionists’ warm ups. Elyse runs stretches, while Andrew is in charge of cardio. Drumline begins their warm up by doing very extensive and difficult beat exercises. They have to keep time with a shrill beep coming from a speaker, while Mr. Jupinka gives them different volumes to play. The color guard surely does not sit around, but instead instantly begins their rigorous routine, including practicing their flag throwing synchronization skills.

About an hour into practice the different parts of the Screaming Eagles come together as one. They begin to practice each of their numbers separately. The entire performance is titled In Your Dreams, music arranged by Mr. Raguseo and drills written by Mr.Raguseo. It is then split into three stunning parts: “Hard Day’s Night” into “Enter Sandman,”  “Fantasy” into “Frankenstein” (then a drum break), back into “Fantasy,”  and “I Have A Dream” into “Dream On.”

Mr. Raguseo demands perfection from the Screaming Eagles. If it is not to his standards he will stop the entire band, tell them what is wrong, and have them begin again. “I mean it gets monotonous and annoying sometimes especially when we can’t get it perfect or when it’s during an equipment change (which means I have to sprint, put down a flag and then sprint back only to change them again) but it’s kinda weird knowing that you can practice this one minute of marching or music or flag work over and over again for an hour or so, but the only thing that matters is that minute you show the judges/audience, you know?” Kayla Mingino confessed to me.

The fun begins after their morning rehearsals, when the parents bring in food. I had the chance to try “Costa Pasta.” Antonia Costa’s mom brings heaps of fantastic pasta to feed the large group of ravenous teens. This pasta was magnificent.

After lunch, the day becomes hectic. It is a mad dash for the band to do hair or makeup (boys and girls), to get their uniforms, and to get their equipment either on one of the three busses or onto their trailer. Once everyone is ready to go, the busses leave campus and the Screaming Eagles travel fearlessly to their competition.

The Marching Band, once arriving at Monroe Township High School, practice diligently once again. While watching play together was magnificent. As they played, you faintly hear the wet grass splashing underneath our feet; feet becoming damp. It was finally the Screaming Eagle’s turn to soar. You would think that after hearing and seeing this performance all day I would get horribly bored, but instead it was more splendid than any other time.

Once they were finished performing, the entire band had a more relaxed feel. After taking off their itchy uniforms, and putting on nice comfortable sweatpants, the entire band just had fun. Many of them went to the snack stand, and enjoyed the cheap cuisine. The smell of fried chicken filled the air. While sitting in the stands watching other bands perform, everyone huddle together in hopes of staying warm.

After a few hours of chatting, they start to announce the results. Everyone holds hands in excitement, waiting to see if they have defeated the other band. Unfortunately in this particular competition they did not win, but Mr. Raguseo did not want them to see it as a loss. They played their hearts out, and performed spectacularly.