Verona’s award-winning Marching Maroon and White is proud to host the Second Annual NJSMA North Jersey Regional Marching Band Competition on Saturday, October 27 at 5:30 p.m. at Verona High School’s Thomas J. Sellitto Athletic Field. The festival will be co-hosted by the Verona Music Parents Association and the Marching Band Division of the New Jersey School Music Association (NJSMA) after the great success of last year’s inaugural event.
This year’s competition will feature nine marching bands from the Northern New Jersey area. The Verona Marching Maroon and White will perform their program “American Colors”, featuring George Gershwin’s iconic “Rhapsody in Blue”, Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”, and Aaron Copland’s “Red Pony” with a feature performance by junior saxophone soloist Anna Konrad-Parisi. This year’s drum major is senior Kelly Esposito and assistant drum major is Molly Ligon.
Marching bands competing at the festival will be judged in the following categories by a nationally acclaimed panel:
·Music Ensemble: Professor Darryl Bott; Director of Bands, Rutgers University
·Music Performance: Dr. Thomas McCauley; Director of Bands, Montclair State University
·Overall Effect: Mr. Dennis Delucia, WGI and DCI Hall of Fame
·Visual Performance: Mr. Thomas Beresford, WGI Hall of Fame
·Visual Effect: Mr. Jeff Namian; WGI Hall of Fame
Band Festival tickets are $10 and the doors will open at 5:00 p.m. The event begins at 5:30, with the Verona Marching Maroon and White performing at approximately 8:18 p.m. The Verona High School Thomas J. Sellitto Athletic Field is also known as the upper field and is accessible via Fairview Avenue or Grove Street in Verona. Only handicapped parking is available in the lot next to the tennis courts on Sampson Drive. The Verona Music Parents Association, NJSMA and local sponsors look forward to an evening of great music, food trucks, and fun for the whole community! For more information, visit the Verona Music website at veronamusic.org.
