Alumni Band will take place on Sept. 6, at Mansion Park.
For over 25 years, Altoona band graduates have been returning to the field to participate in Alumni Band.
This year, there are 277 returning members. Of the 277 returning, 269 of those members will be on field and eight will be attending. The numbers this year compared to past years differ significantly.
“[There are] absolutely more. In past years, there have been between 150 – 160,” Executive Director of the Altoona Area High School Alumni Association Paula Foreman said.
Band director Larry Detwiler has a specific goal for Alumni Band this year.
“The goal is balancing…having a really good performance, but keeping it fun at the same time,” Detwiler said.
There are two specific traditions that happen during Alumni Band.
“It’s so cool when we all do Barnum together,” Detwiler said. “Barnum has been here since the 40’s. Everybody has different halftime songs and different themes, but everybody has always done Barnum. They [the alumni] always want to be in line behind us to march in with us. The alumni always want to be in line and march in behind us. Marching in has become the other tradition.”
There are always challenges when planning Alumni Band, but finding instruments is the biggest one.
“The hardest thing is getting all the instruments together. For example, there are 44 drummers coming in. Maybe seven or eight of them have their own, so I have to come up with 34 drums for that night in addition to what we are using. Getting the equipment together is the hardest part.But it’s neat seeing them all on field,” Detwiler said.
Four time returnee Josh Aboud will be on field as a baritone.
“I look forward to sharing the field with my brother and my daughter. But it will also be just like old times with my father announcing the halftime show,” Aboud said.
Junior Theo Kessling is experiencing Alumni Band for the first time.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Kessling said. “I think the most exciting part for me is the fact that once I graduate, I will still get to come back and play with my friends on the field. Once I graduate it won’t all go away, it’ll still be there.”
This year marks Detwiler’s last year being in charge of Alumni Band.
“I haven’t let myself think about it, but I know the exact moment it’s going to hit. When I am on the stand for Barnum. I’m going to be like, ‘oh my god, this is getting close to done.’ I haven’t had time to think about it,” Detwiler said.
Although it is his last year conducting, it isn’t Detwiler’s last year with Alumni Band.
“I am an alumnus of the program, which means at the next Alumni Band, I will be on field as a trumpet,” Detwiler said.“Right now, going back to the field isn’t special because I am out there four days a week. But after I retire, going out on the field will become special.”
