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In a poll that began last week, listeners and followers of WOBM on the radio and website have voted our own Marching Indian Band as the Best Band in Ocean County!  You can find the full story here: https://wobm.com/winner-of-best-high-school-marching-band-in-ocean-county-voted-by-you/

Junior Jack Harjes placed twelfth overall at the NJMEA All State Band auditions on Saturday, January 22.  He joins an elite club of advanced players from South to perform on the state honors level.  He will get to rehearse at the Atlantic City Convention Center during the NJMEA conference, and then take the stage in the beautiful NJPAC in Newark for his concert.  As per South tradition, Jack will also have the opportunity to play a solo work with band accompaniment at our May concert.  Congratulations!

Each year, thousands of high school- and college-age marching band performers from across the country audition for the chance to be offered a contract with Drum Corps International (DCI). If offered one of these contracts, the performer travels to spring training in preparation for a summer tour, where the corps perform and compete at various venues across the country, sometimes at a new venue each night. The touring and competitions ultimately lead to the DCI World Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where performers compete in front of a crowd of more than 30,000 people.  

Following a rigorous audition process this past year. Moreira accepted a Rack 1 contract with Jersey Surf World Class Drum Corps, playing in their front ensemble. He attended training at Delaware State University in June, and then toured the country working with outstanding music professionals and meeting what he believes will be lifetime friends.  Jersey Surf made it to the semifinals at the DCI World Championships, where they were a crowd favorite performing their show, "Meet me in Atlantic City," which included iconic hits by The Four Seasons and a taste of Bon Jovi.   He plans on auditioning for DCI Corps again this year, and if successful, he’ll no longer be a rookie.

Sophomore AJ Moreira placed second overall at the All Shore Jazz Band auditions Tuesday.  He will be the drum set player for the B band.  That's a great feat for a first-time honors audition!  Indianific job, AJ!

For the first time since 2019, auditions were held for the NJMEA Region III (also known as All South Jersey) honors ensembles.  The best musicians from the seven-county region vie for spots in these groups.  Senior Victoria Stendardo (trumpet) and junior Jack Harjes (clarinet) were both accepted in to the groups.  Tori will perform with the Blue Symphonic Band, and Jack will perform with both the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra.  Congratulations to two outstanding musicians!  Have fun with Regions; next stop, All State!

The waning of the pandemic allowed the Marching Indian Band to complete our full season by once again being the lead band for the Toms River Veterans Day Parade.  The band did an excellent job, despite being a bit short on members for the event.  Following the parade, senior Victoria Stendardo played "Taps" for the official county ceremony held at Town Hall.

The Marching Indians took advantage of a special invitation by Mr. McGrath to join them in their second-ever festival at the end of the season.  The two bands had a ton of fun watching each other and mingling afterwards!  The evening included a special ceremony to honor our student leaders and seniors one last time for the season!  We had perfect weather as well! We hope this becomes an annual event.