Former Trumbull High Marching Band Director Mourned By Community

TRUMBULL, CT — Peter Horton, the former director of the award-winning Trumbull High School Golden Eagles Marching Band, has died, according to town officials.

News of Horton's death was announced over the weekend on the marching band's Facebook page.

"It is with great sadness that we share that former band director Peter Horton has passed," a post reads. "Without his talent and dedication, THSGEMB would not be what it is today. We send our condolences to the entire Horton family, and thank them for sharing Mr. Horton with all of the THSGEMB students past and present."

The post, which was shared over 50 times, garnered comments from over 100 former colleagues, students and others who remembered Horton for his generosity, dedication, leadership and humility.

They also acknowledged the tremendous impact he had on students and the school's marching band program as a whole.

In a statement Monday, First Selectman Vicki Tesoro said Horton spent over three decades teaching music, a big part of which was spent running the successful marching band program.

He leaves behind an impressive legacy, having had an important and positive impact upon thousands of high school students, Tesoro said.

"Many have commented on [Horton's] recognition of the potential in a student," Tesoro said in a statement, "noting his ability to bring out the best in each performer, belief in his mantra [of] pride, attitude and concentration, and how he shaped so many to become the musicians, teachers and adults they have become."

According to Tesoro, the high school's band marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1997 and 2017 under Horton's direction, as well as the 2001 inaugural parade for George W. Bush and the 2009 parade for Barack Obama, both of which took place in Washington, D.C.

The band won several regional and national championships due to his tutelage, Tesoro said.

In 2019, Horton was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Musical Arts Conference, a nonprofit organization that promotes musical ensemble instruction and competition across Connecticut.

"He was widely known as one of the best music educators in the Northeast," Tesoro said. "Peter Horton will be greatly missed in Trumbull and in the music profession. Rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Horton family."