School Spirit: Eastern Regional High School Marching Band

Beccah Hendrickson Image
Saturday, November 30, 2024
School Spirit: Eastern Regional High School Marching Band

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It's Friday, which means it's time to celebrate school spirit at 6abc.

This week, we welcomed the Eastern Regional High School Marching Band to The Yard, where they showed why they are back-to-back Atlantic Coast champions.

"Family together all the time is kind of the band motto, but also the family motto," said Kayla Stanz, an alumnus, whose dad happens to be the band director.

"It's incredible. I love it. Me and my dad have a really, really strong bond because of it," said Ashley Stanz, Kayla's younger sister.

John Stanz has been the band director for nearly two decades. He says he works hard to build a family atmosphere with his 80-member band, which is easy to do when he's working with some of his own kids too.

"It's all about teamwork. We push these kids, the kids push us back to make sure that we're striving for the best we can. Teamwork and we roll as one," he said.

That teamwork has resulted in a lot of success for the students from Voorhees, New Jersey.

"I love the community and how we all get together to work on something as a group and in the end it's so inspiring how much we all grow together," said Madeleine Siri, the drum major.

That growth, coupled with school spirit, has made it a few years' worth of seasons to remember for the Eastern Regional Vikings.

"I had a duet with my older brother who graduated and it was just a really beautiful moment and a great way to end his year and my season," said Josh Kelly, a senior.

The band isn't done performing quite yet.

This Friday, they're going to be playing on board the Battleship New Jersey for a Pearl Harbor Day commemoration concert.

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