It's a year of change for the Pequea Valley marching band.

Former Pequea Valley marching band director Rob Corrao retired at the end of the 2025-26 school year, opening the door for Jim Ackerman's second stint in charge of the unit.

Ackerman was previously the band's director for roughly ten years in the late 2000s and most of the 2010s. He's no stranger to the Pequea Valley music band, serving as a music teacher within the district. He also works closely with the concert band and the guitar, piano and rock band programs.

"I was still in the district," he said. "I just had other things to do."

This year's band camp ran from July 27 to 31. Starting at 8 a.m. each day of camp, the 17 musicians and 12 members of the color guard battled the heat and fatigue of the dog days of summer. Camp ran from 8 a.m. through 4 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Friday.

This year, the Pequea Valley unit will perform a show with a 1990s theme. Ackerman described the show as being songs you would hear on a "NOW That's What I Call Music!" CD from that era, with tracks like Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Smooth" by Rob Thomas on the setlist. The drill for the show was custom written for Pequea Valley.

"I tried to come up with songs that were different subgenres of the '90s," Ackerman said. "And ones that were famous at the time."

The decades theme is not a strange one to those who have been following Pequea Valley's marching unit since Ackerman's previous tenure. In the past, Ackerman's unit performed shows with 1960s, 1970s and 1980s themes, but he retired before it was time for the 1990s.

"We'll pick up where we left off," he said. "It just felt like a fun way to do it, just doing things for us little people and the kids that like the songs."

This year, Pequea Valley's marching band will perform at home football games. Its first show will be the team's first home game on Friday, Sept. 4, against Thomas A. Edison in nonleague action. The football stadium is located at 4033 E. Newport Road, Kinzers. The band will also perform in the New Holland Parade on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Ackerman's staff includes Allem Apgar, assistant director; Jen Bilby, color guard instructor; and Briana Shyver, percussion instructor.

Band camp week does not just bring sweat and long days - it also brings friendship and fun. Each day had a unique theme for band members to match with their outfit. First came "Mermaid Monday," which called for students to dress like they were going to the beach. Then, "Twin Tuesday," where students were instructed to match their friends. "Wacky Wednesday," "Throw Back Thursday" and "Freaky Friday" followed.

Unlike most high school bands, Pequea Valley does not assign section leaders or have any formal student leadership.

"By the third song, we let them go for a while, and they learned their own way," Ackerman said. "They learned their bisections for a while. ... It was really self-governed, and they learned that entire third song that way. I felt like that was a turning point in the week, where they just became their band of who they are."