SHS Marching Band and Colorguard Cap Near-Perfect Fall with First-Ever NESBA Championship
SHS Marching Band, Colorguard enjoy ‘undefeated season’
SALEM (Nov. 7, 2024) – It is fitting that the performance theme of the Salem High School Marching Band and Colorguard this fall is titled ‘A New Dawn.’
After 37 years as Marching Band director, Cynthia Napierkowski stepped down from the role effective this year, making way for Ben Chertok, a music educator at Salem Public Schools in his 19th year.
The fall 2024 season ended Sunday with the SHS Marching Band and Colorguard earning its first-ever New England School Marching Band Association (NESBA) Division 3 Championship in what was a historic, nearly perfect season.
It belongs to Ms. Napierkowski as much as it does Mr. Chertok, who quickly declined credit.
“She built (the program) up and got it to a place where it was going to be in good shape no matter what,” Mr. Chertok said. “All of us were highly confident the stage was set for the legacy and tradition to continue. We all inherited a well-oiled machine.”
Not only was Mr. Chertok thrust into the director’s role, he brought on two new co-directors of the Colorguard in Jackie Gaffney and Caylee Post, the former a 2016 SHS graduate, as well as other new leadership. “We got really lucky with these two at the helm,” he said. “They reshaped the Colorguard in a major way.”
‘A New Dawn’ is a mashup of music by The Weeknd (“Dawn FM,” “Blinding Lights,” and the finale “Phantom Regret by Jim”) and Anthony Newley and Leslie Briccuse (“Feeling Good”). It features solos by senior baritone saxophonist Isaac Espinal and alto saxophonist Mariangela Diaz.
SHS opened the year with consecutive NESBA competitions at North Andover H.S. (Sept. 28) and Westford Academy (Oct. 5) and swept the categories of Best Music, Best Visual and Best Overall Effect to place first among Division 3 schools at both sites. It scored a 74.65 out of 100 at North Andover and improved with a score of 81.69 at Westford Academy – third-highest among the 16 schools competing and tops among Division 3.
“This season we went into rehearsal with two focal points: focus and positivity,” said Ms. Diaz. “These set the tone for how we were to approach perseverance when rehearsals got difficult. To have that mindset as an entire band, we were able to lean on each other for support and guidance, whether you were a rookie or a seasoned veteran, which reflected on how the season went.
“I don’t think anyone had expected this season to go the way it did, but when the awards kept coming, I think it fueled our fire even more,” she added. “It made us want to be great. This excites me to see what the future of this marching band has in store.”
SHS followed with two gold medal performances at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) Marching Band Championships at Wakefield H.S. Oc. 19, and at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy Oct. 27. At both competitions, SHS musicians received a perfect five stars in the five categories of visual, music, percussion, colorguard and overall band performance.
Sunday’s performance at the NESBA Championship was more of the same. When the announcer declared SHS’s final score, raucous celebrations drowned out his proclamation of the winner.
“What we have done truly baffles me everyday because I know the freshman me would not believe it,” said Colorguard captain Tanny Sanprasert. “We talk about legacy in the band a lot, and this legacy is something I will continue to carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Mr. Chertok likened this fall to the equivalent of an undefeated season. “This whole season has been overwhelming,” he noted.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Mr. Chertok is holding a parent/student orientation for those interested in joining SHS Colorguard. Programs are a lot easier to sell when there’s a championship banner hanging over them.
“(The team) have been very intentional from the moment I was announced as director,” said Mr. Chertok. “We pulled the seniors together and made clear the traditions were important to us, that the program is bigger than one person.”
