Kiski Area marching band takes bronze medal at national competition

The Kiski Area High School marching band capped its 2022 performance season with a national award.

The band earned the 2022 Bands of America Class AA National Bronze Medal at the Bands of America Grand National Championships held recently in Indianapolis.

The competition featured more than 100 high school bands from across the nation.

The Kiski Area band has 137 members. This year, it qualified to compete nationally after earning a second consecutive Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band (PIMBA) crown in October at the 2022 PIMBA Championships at Norwin High School in Irwin.

Kiski placed first in Class AAAA in the High Music, High General and High General Effect categories, with a score of 94.9 at the PIMBA competition.

After rehearsing several times a week for its final competition of the year, the band hosted a public send-off performance Nov. 9 at the Kiski Area High School football stadium before traveling to Indianapolis.

Band director Shawn Pityk has led the band for 15 years.

For band member Cassia Remencus, performing at the national level was memorable.

“It was amazing walking into Lucas Oil Stadium,” Remencus said. “When I entered, the whole world seemed to go silent. I was engulfed by the dome.”

He described the atmosphere at nationals as “intimidating” and said performing at that level makes for lifelong memories.

“It was an incredible experience for our students,” said Pityk, describing Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium as one of the largest stages for band performances. “The kids were in awe of the venue and scope of the event.”

In previous years, Kiski Area won silver and gold medals at nationals.

“That was many, many years ago,” Pityk said.

The band’s performance theme this year was “Corners of My Mind.”

“The goal was to go in, have our best performances of the season, and the students did just that,” Pityk said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better season, honestly.”