On October 8, 2022, at the University of Delaware, the Edison High School’s marching band competed in the Bands of America Championship against 29 other marching bands. 

This year’s performance, titled “Chaos Order,” allowed Edison High to enter the mid-season finals for the first time in school history. The instrumentalists bussed 2 hours down to the University of Delaware for their annual region match. Bands of America, the host organization, allows 12 marching bands out of 29 to play in the competition finals. After moving on to Delaware’s late-night round, the Edison High marching band placed 7 out of the 12 bands competing.

“In terms of difficulty and success, I would say last year’s marching band show had more physical demands in terms of the moving and drill sets,” said Assistant Band Director Mr. Joseph Ciappina. “But this year’s marching band orchestration of the show’s music and design makes for a much more successful show.” 

Last year’s 2021 group was unable to qualify for finals in Bands of America at the University of  Maryland due to technical difficulties, but this year they made up for it with a high-scoring effort.

“As for me, the marching band competitions are rather stressful. But it can also be extremely fun and enjoyable to see all the hard work you’ve put in come together and other people coming to see you perform,” said Oyindamola Ayeni ’26. “And while most people join marching bands initially for college applications, the marching band becomes a family and creates strong leadership skills and communication in students.”

Furthermore, on October 1, 2022, the EHS marching band received the highest score at the John P. Stevens marching band competition, receiving additional awards for best music, visual, and general effects music. 

Sean Williams ‘23 said, “It was definitely a bonding experience and cool being around people with similar experiences and interests. Marching band is a lot of hard work and is for people who do care about the success of the marching band,” 

“You get a sense of community with people who all share a similar goal in creating a cool show,” said Ayeni.