Art and Music

Stranded

Sydney Renner
October 14, 2021

A plane crashes and the passengers are trapped on an island! It’s survival of the fittest as the plane passengers split into tribes and fight to the top. Completely stranded—fighting against mother nature itself. Will members find hope within the darkness? Will the tribe make it out alive, or will all members perish?

Pottsgrove High School’s Marching Band proudly presents the 2022 field show, STRANDED, directed by Drum Major, Alyssa Confino! The unique drill design of the field show depicts the marchers stranded on the island, aggressively fighting their way through an unknown forest. One of the band’s members, Hannah Marsteller, stated: “This year’s show feels similar to the novel, Lord of The Flies”. Delightfully paired with the field show are thrilling musical movements from “Symphony No. 4”, by Andrew Boyson Junior. This chosen music echoes the most intimate emotions humans feel during points of confusion and chaos. Symphony No. 4 perfectly depicts being stranded on an island, fighting inner and external demons along the way—extremely similar to Lord of the Flies. The music arrangement features a trumpet solo (played by Mason Vetter), a trumpet duet (played by Mason Vetter and Abdel Rivera), a piccolo solo (played by Sydney Renner), and a percussion feature in the third movement. Pottsgrove marching band members have embraced all aspects of the show and have worked exceptionally hard to provide the best entertainment for the community.

Ellie Zerefos, the Pottsgrove High School’s band director, believes “the community will highly enjoy this show as it depicts the hard work and effort of Pottsgrove students”. It is marvelous to view the band and the amazing effort of students once again after the band’s absence due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Now that school is back in person for the 2021-2022 school year, the future for the Pottsgrove Marching band looks bright! The band would be thrilled if more of the community members came in support of their playing. They perform every Friday evening at half-time for Pottsgrove High School football games. Along with football games, the band performs on Saturdays at Cavalcade competitions that are open to the public. Trumpet soloist, Mason Vetter, exclaims “it is great to be back in the band season, especially for my senior year! I think this year’s show will be one to remember”. Stranded is a riveting, memorable show that will permeate the community’s hearts with joyous music.

Cavalcade Competitions (Pottsgrove locations, dates, and performance times)