Health & Fitness
West Essex Marching Knights Receive Highest Score Ever, Move on to Atlantic Coast Championships
West Essex Marching Knights hosted a Tournament of Bands Chapter X Championship Sunday Oct. 23 at the high school.
The West Essex Regional Marching Knights, who hosted a Tournament of Bands Chapter X Championship Sunday Oct. 23 at the high school, received a 92.10, their highest score in West Essex history at the event. They also took home the award for High Music.
The Marching Knights are currently ranked No. 6 in the East Coast and will showcase their talent at the Atlantic Coast Championship Nov. 6 at Hershey Park.
Ryan Zyla, a West Essex senior baritone sax player, also received a Tournament of Bands Chapter X Championship Scholarship award. Ryan wrote a paper titled, "What Marching Band Means to Me." The scholarship contest was open to seniors from the 13 participating high school bands. Ryan was presented with a $250 scholarship award. A senior from Lenape Valley High School also received an award.
The Tournament of Bands X Championship featured performances by 13 of the top marching bands in New Jersey, who competed for a chance to get to the Atlantic Coast Championships. The bands ranged in size from Group I to Group IV, according to John Scozzaro, the director of the marching band. The Knights, with 61 band members from 8th to 12th grades, are ranked fifth in the Group II marching bands on the East Coast out of more than 60 bands, he said.
The Knights performed their 2011 show “Lozt,” arranged by Dennis Argul and Dan Delong. The piece, which runs eight minutes and 15 seconds, features some music from “The Wizard of Oz,” including “The Witch is Dead,” as well as Eminem's “Lose Yourself,” John Adams’ “Short Ride on a Fast Machine,” and Beethoven‘s “Pathetique.”
The following bands participated with the West Essex Knights in the tournament: Lenape Valley, Raritan, Roselle Park, Governor Livingston (Berkeley Heights), Brick Memorial, North Bergen, Ramsey, Jefferson, Madison, Matawan, and Hopewell Valley Central high schools.
For more information, please contact Allison Freeman, Manager of Communications and Community Outreach, at (973) 228-1200 ext. 101 or by email at afreeman@westex.org.
