Wildcat band ready for new season

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – The numbers are up and the enthusiasm high as the Central Mountain High School Marching Band prepares for the fall season.

The band is ready to kick-off the season with a special opening appearance, along with the Bucktail Drumline, this Wednesday morning when the Keystone Central School District teachers and staff gather for a welcome back at the Central Mountain High School auditorium.

This year’s band features 21 members, led by a veteran group of eight seniors. Directors Ashley Crust and Heather Haigh said band camp this year was “fantastic” and the band learned the drill to its halftime show in its entirety for the second year in a row.

They said the band participants are elated to be back together to play and twirl, especially without having to wear masks this fall. They noted a third of the group are from the middle school age group, so for the band’s average age, “things are shaping up very well for so early in the season,” noting there are a lot of new skills to be learned in marching band.

As for the halftime show, the directors said, “We chose a Disney theme for our show this year, a mixture of classic Disney and 90s Disney music. We feature two senior trumpet soloists, Miss Bryn Miller and Miss Allysen Peters, and twirler Jasmine McCulley, a junior.

The CM band will be traveling to Bucktail Area High School this Friday for its first official show performance of the year. “We don’t get many opportunities to play along with the Bucktail musicians, and we’re excited to spend time with them twice this week.”