Freeport High School’s Marching Band – hard work and lots of fun

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Neither the blistering August sun nor the squalls of rain could deter the 154 students from Freeport High School who reported to summer band camp last month. Members of FHS’s marching band and color guard spent a weeklong training session on the field, practicing their skills for upcoming school year performances.

“They never complain,” Michael LaSorsa, Freeport High School band director, said. “They come here rain or shine and practice, practice, practice.” The five-day, seven-hour program is rigorous; students must first learn their music and then, working with the color guard team, perfect their routine to create musical and visual masterpieces that include synchronization and precise formations.

This year approximately 50 students are incoming members. “They are a very young band,” added Adam Rubin, assistant marching band director and the Dodd Middle School band director. “But they are doing an incredible job, working to get everything just right.”

All the students involved in the band program are either in concert band or wind ensemble. “Any student can join the marching band,” LaSorsa explained. “And you can be in the drum line without participating in concert band. But you must be in good academic standing and committed to work hard,” he said. “This year we have 32 [division] leaders who help teach the music and the drills. They are selected through an interview process and are top musicians, leaders and strong in academics,” LaSorsa said.

In addition to performing at all the football games, the Freeport High School Marching Band participates in the Newsday Marching Band Contest and has been invited to play at a Hofstra basketball game during its half time show. They also march in the Memorial Day Parade and “at the end of the year we go on a trip. It’s usually some kind of band competition,” LaSorsa said.

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