The Kiski Area High School Marching Band is on a roll.
The band placed first in the Bands of America Mid-Atlantic Regional competition held Oct. 9 in College Park, Md. The win marks the band’s 21st BOA Regional Champion title.
Band director Shawn Pityk said Kiski Area is the only band nationwide to have won a regional event in five separate decades.
“The directors, staff and parents could not be more proud of all the students for bringing this show to life,” Pityk said.
On Saturday, the band will compete in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association (PIMBA) Championship competition at Gateway High School in Monroeville.
This year’s competition, hosted by the University of Maryland, assembled 18 high school bands from Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The competition is open to all high school bands on a first-come, first-served basis.
The format included a preliminary performance and additional performances where Kiski swept all categories — Outstanding Music Performance, Outstanding Music Performance and Outstanding General Effect — with a score of 82.5.
Kiski competed in Class AA, determined by school size in grades 10-12. Norwin High School in Westmoreland County came in second.
Kiski Area Superintendent Misty Slavic praised the band for their continued successes.
“After a year of only competing in front of their families, this victory for our marching band was even more meaningful,” Slavic said. “The Kiski Area Marching Band works hard daily to master their craft. What makes them even more special is that they demonstrate the core values of collaboration, respect and sportsmanship of our Cavalier community in all they do and everywhere they go.”
The band performs a halftime program at all Kiski Area High football games.
Band accomplishments include being named Bands of America Class AA National Champion twice, and Bands of America Regional Grand Champion 20 times.
“It’s been an incredible season,” Pityk said.
