In the name of The Spartan Marching Band directors, band crew and Sparta Music Boosters Inc , we want to extend our biggest thanks to our students and parent volunteers. This was the youngest band we have had in many years with 26 out of 60 members being first year members. While we enjoyed several accolades and awards, our greatest gift was seeing how hard these young musicians worked, and came together to create a beautiful show.
2023 SHS Marching Spartans Presented At The Movies! displaying the entire movie going experience, from entering the lobby to the previews, to some of the most iconic musical selections and quotes ever presented on the silver screen, including: ● The Wizard of Oz Overture by Harold Arlen ● Back to the Future by Allen Silvestri ● My Heart Will Go On by James Horner ● Jaws by John Williams ● Pirates of the Caribbean by Hans Zimmer ● Soul Bossa Nova by Quincy Jones ● Lose Yourself by Eminem ● This is Me by Ben Pasek and Justin Paul and ● E.T. by John Williams
All these incredible artistic experiences have been under the direction of Scott Tomlin and Andrew Lopez; visual and colorguard design by Lori Tomlin; music and drill design by Scott Tomlin; percussion arrangements and instruction by Phil Gallo and Ken O’Rourke and music and drill instruction by Josh Woldt and Joe Lombardo.
And the student leaders for the Marching Spartans this year 2023 are: Drum Majors Ian Bellush and Molly McQueeny. Color Guard Captains Juliann Handzus and Kaitlyn Kayser. Percussion Captains Dan Perez and Laura Scheri. Pit Captain Katie Sheeran. Field Captains Julianna Englese, Haley Erickson, and Natalie Torres. Quartermasters Aleck Aldaz-Pagnacco and Madelyn Rufino. The Band Manager is Rain Shauger.
This season highlights for the Spartans are for sure the following competitions:
- Jefferson High School – 1st Place, Best Music & Best Visual
- Butler High School – 1st Place, Best Music & Best Visual
- Region 10 Championships – 1st Place, Best Visual
And our own very special and successful home competition, The Spartan Showcase, which was held on our high school football field this past October 7th.
The “Spartan Showcase 2023”, the 3rd Annual Marching Band Home Competition in coordination with TOB (Tournament of Bands Association) was a total success.
Not even the rain and the cloudy day could prevent the Spartans event from being a total triumph framed by camaraderie, good sport, the union of the community and a display of immeasurable talent and professionalism on the part of the attending bands and their dedicated directors and teams.
Some of the area’s hottest Marching Bands! 16 Bands this year performed with their great energy and exceptionally creative shows, filling the more than 300 attendees with enthusiasm, cheers and applause!
With the generous participation of more than 50 volunteers across different specialties, the football stadium became a celebration space with delicious food and drink options at the concession stand run by the excellent group of VFW (Sparta’s Veterans Organization), candy stations, air and even duck grams! an exceptionally varied merchandise table to take home an adorable souvenir and the presence of its faithful sponsors on the screens of the venue and a fabulous digital program that every year allows us to closely follow the history of each tournament and its participants. And the team is definitely planning on doing this event next year! We can’t wait!
We would like to give a special shout out to Dr Gianuzzi who did a splendid job as master of ceremony! Narrating the biographies of each band, and describing their artistic concept, in her hands was the wonderful task of announcing the awards, especially one of the most special of the evening: The Spartan Spirit Award.
This year’s Spartan Spirit Award was presented in Memory of Ray Troxell who passed away in July of this year. Ray Troxell was the longtime head of Region 10 for the Tournament of Bands. This award is chosen by the Sparta Music Boosters organization, observing all bands throughout the day and the bands receiving this award were : Chatham High School Band and Jefferson High school. Who displayed and showed great respect, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm from the time they arrived through the end of their performance.
Of course we could not end our narrative without The final recap of awards for this splendid October evening by places:
Group 1 – A
- Chatham
- Bloomfield
- Hoboken
- Kearny
- High Point Regional
- Henry Becton Regional
- North Arlington
- Newton
Group 2 – A
- West Morris Mendham
- Jefferson Twp
- West Morris Central
Group 3 – A
- Mahwah
- Butler
- Wayne Hills
- Mount Olive
Congratulations to all the extraordinary bands that were part of The Spartan Showcase!
Oh well, as the season has come to an end for The Marching Spartans and we really want to express our gratitude, to all of you, Sponsors and Community. A huge thank you to our parent volunteers. As Director Andrew Lopez said: “We have a core group of parents who really make this “machine” run so smoothly and effortlessly, but not without hours and hours of hard work and dedication. Also, a thank you to the many parents who chipped in in a variety of ways, from driving our truck, to helping on the pit crew, to donating food for 3rd quarter snacks. It truly takes a village to make this activity work, and we have the best village around.”
The band has finished its 2023 fall season, but we have final news: the Spartans will perform in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on Saturday, March 16, 2024. How exciting! And The next event is their private Senior Banquet on Wednesday, November 29th. This event is for members and their families only, and we will make sure they read these lines, and know how proud we are of them!
If you would like to know more about our Sparta Music Programs, our Sponsors and upcoming concert dates, please visit our Instagram page @Spartamusicboostersinc and our Facebook group under the same name SMBinc.
Have a merry holiday season! And we will see you soon!
Attentively
Sparta Music Boosters Inc Team.
