Throughout this past season, the members of Donegal High School's marching band set their sights high - very high, actually. With a theme of "Look to the Stars," their show focused on using what's above us to find our way. They found their way right to the top when the band took home first place at the Cavalcade of Bands Championship held in early November. It marked the end of a very successful and award-winning season for the group.

Coming off a first-place finish at a Manheim Central competition earlier this year, the band lost the top spot to a Pen Argyl-based band, which squeaked by the Donegal band in the next competition to win first place by just half a point. Donegal wanted friendly revenge at the Cavalcade.

"We were first in our division all season, so having someone 0.5 ahead of us going into the championships was not a good feeling," recalled Sadie Hakkinen, a senior who plays the clarinet and is the president of the band. "We were trying to keep morale high."

The band walked away with awards for first place in its division as well as honors for High Visual Effect, High Overall Effect and High Auxiliary.

"Our show was about how people navigated by looking to the stars, the North Star and the constellations to find their way," said senior Aidyn Zell, who plays the trumpet and is the band vice president. "We performed five songs at the competition."

The show opened with a solo performed by Aidyn, followed by a second section that featured a solo by Sadie.

Next, the band moved into "Follow the Drinking Gourd," where a quartet of singers performed a traditional piece used to instruct slaves how to navigate the Underground Railroad.

"They called the Big Dipper the 'drinking gourd,' and they would follow the North Star and finally be free," explained Samantha Alampi, a junior who plays the synthesizer and is the band secretary. The show concluded with music focused on more modern methods of space exploration and aviation.

"No other band had a live vocal part at the competition," said Samantha. "Some had recorded vocals, but ours were performed live at every single performance."

The 30-member band performed in six competitions throughout the region this year.

Last year, the band won first place in the Cavalcade for the first time in Donegal history, and the band members were treated like celebrities when they returned home after the competition. The same thing happened this year, when local police cars and fire trucks escorted the band through a victory tour of Mount Joy, Marietta and Maytown.

The band members all say they were thrilled to win first place and happy that their hard work paid off.

"From the beginning of the season, it was very clear to our directors that our show was designed very nicely," Sadie said. "There were a lot of moving parts that made us stand out. We worked so hard. We rehearse a lot. Marching band is our life during the season. We put in so much work, and I think it was really clear at the end of the season how much we all did."

Along with the vocal performance, the show stood out with narration that was written by the marching band's assistant director, Nichole Witman.

"That really helped us tie the story together," Samantha said.

The students thanked their director, Dale Sellers, and other supporters of the band, including Stan Tucker and band members' parents, for their successful season.

Being a band member is a major time commitment, the students said, but it's time well spent.

"I love how much of a family we become," Sadie said. "We might have our ups and downs like any family, but we love each other, and we are with each other so much; it's just nice to have people that understand you and people you can relate directly to."

For Aidyn, band provided a community.

"It gave me a group I feel like I fit into more," he shared. "It's been really nice to have a group of people who all work toward the same goal. It's fun, and it's given me a sense of purpose for what I'm doing during school and the time in band. It's just enjoyable."

Samantha noted that being a member of the band is different from being a member of other teams.

"My favorite thing about band is we're competitive, but also so friendly," she said. "I know I've made tons of friends in other bands through competitions, through football games. ... It's a community in our band, but throughout bands, there's a whole community there also. We all play marching instruments, and we all are kind of nerds, and it's really fun."