Salem High Marching Band & Color Guard Earns Gold At NE Fall Final

SALEM, MA — The Salem High School Marching Band and Color Guard made its one competitive performance of the season count on Sunday as it won the gold medal at the New England School Band Association Fall Final.

The SHS Marching Band and Color Guard have compiled seven platinum medals and 18 gold medals at the NESBA Fall Final since 1992.

"Every time we rehearse, we get better and better," said Marching Band Director Cyndi Napierkowski, in her 37th year. "We're very, very happy to get a gold medal. We didn't come in first place, but that's not what we were going for. We wanted to stay in that bracket of the top high school bands."

The program was limited to one competitive event this fall after it was opted out of the U.S. Bands circuit because of the extensive travel and had its other major event in Wakefield on Oct. 21 canceled because of downpours.

The Marching Band and Color Guard's performance — titled "Hits From Across the Pond" — included The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" by The Police, "Your Song" by Elton John and concluded with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Napierkowski said it was an ambitious show with 24 newcomers to this year's band and color guard.

"What we're asking our kids to do is very difficult," Napierkowski said. "It was tremendous. Our kids are doing amazing things. We are putting ourselves out there competitively. The kids enjoy the competition so much because the crowd is there to watch them."

The band and color guard will next perform at the city's Veterans Day Ceremony on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Salem High auditorium.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)