The Deer Lakes Marching Band quite literally weathered the storm to prevail as the 2018 Class 2A State Champion at the 23th Annual Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association’s (PIMBA) Championships held last Saturday at Moon Area High School.
The students marched through heavy wind and rain to a show, titled “Stories from the West Side,” which featured selections from Leonard Bernstein’s famous score from
West Side Story.
In each class, participating bands received championship plaques with an additional awards plate presented to the bands receiving the highest score in Music, Visual and General Effect. As first place winners, Deer Lakes also received championship medals.
Some of the other top marching bands Deer Lakes competed against on Saturday included: Burrell, Elizabeth Forward, Southmoreland and Trinity.
This marks Deer Lakes’ sixth ever PIMBA class championship, which compares favorably with some of the very best marching bands in the state of Pennsylvania. Marching band director, Chris Snyder, who has led the program to five such titles, is understandably proud of his students.
“Our kids have a lot of pride in themselves, their performance and their school and they work very hard to hone their craft from the dog days of simmer in July right through the bitter cold of November,” said Snyder. “It’s just wonderful to see all of their hard work and dedication validated and rewarded by some of the region’s top marching band experts.”
The other first place winners at this year’s PIMBA competition included: Blackhawk (Class A), Gateway (Class AAA), and Kiski Area (Class AAAA).