North Penn Marching Band To Perform In Hawaii

LANSDALE, PA -- More than 200 students, staff and community volunteers in the North Penn School District will break out their shorts and tank tops this Thanksgiving season as the North Penn School District (NPSD) Parade Band prepares for a number of very special performances in Waikiki, Hawaii.

Three years ago, a man named Jake Peppers--founder of the Waikiki Holiday Parade in Hawaii--was told about the North Penn Marching Knights (NPMK) by a longtime friend who had recently seen them perform. After careful review and consideration, Peppers extended an invitation to the NPMK to perform at a special, upcoming parade in 2016 commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the school district said.

In an effort to include as many talented North Penn musicians as possible, a separate band was formed in 2015 to perform at this distinguished event. The NPSD Parade Band, otherwise referred to as the “Hawaii Band,” is made up of 197 students in grades nine through 12 under the direction of Mike Britcher, Robert Kennedy, Chris Thompson, Ted Heller, David Orehowsky, Dave DiValentino, Peter Neu and John Josten. The band began rehearsing last year and performed in the 2015 Lansdale Mardis Gras Parade. Vigorous rehearsals resumed in June this year, continued through three days of practice in August and included weekly practices this fall on Wednesday evenings, North Penn said.

According to a news release, the NPSD Hawaii Band along with NPSD staff and family volunteers (and all of the group’s instruments) will depart on Sunday, November 20th and return Sunday, November 27th. The band will begin their series of performances on Monday, November 21st at Pearl Harbor, followed by two additional performances later in the day at the USS Missouri and the USS Arizona memorials. The Waikiki Holiday Parade commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor will take place on Friday evening, November 25th. The NPSD Parade Band steps off at 7:00 p.m. local time. The parade will be broadcast on the Armed Forces Network.

The musical program which the NPSD Parade Band will be performing is mostly patriotic in nature and includes “The National Anthem,” “Stars and Stripes,” “Amber Waves of Grain,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “America,” “Armed Forces on Parade” and “the Navy Hymn – Eternal Father Strong to Save.” The music for the parade itself consists of two selections. The first is a setting of “America the Beautiful” and the second is a setting of “Joy to the World," North Penn said.

Photo courtesy North Penn School District.