Drum Major Tobias Arreola directs the Carson High Band during practice Wednesday at CHS.
Carson High School’s Marching Band is back this year, but bigger and better than ever, according to Director Bill Zabelsky and his students.
This year is the band’s largest enrollment since Zabelsky began his direction at CHS four years ago; there’s a total of 97 members and a good chunk of them are freshmen.
Because of this number, the band will be competing against different divisions from high schools in the area.
The band practices 6-8 hours twice a week — and that includes memorizing each note in the material and performing it on the field with coordinated steps.
But so far the band has been rocking it, especially after their performance at Reed High School for a Senators football game, Zabelsky said.
“They are more accustomed to where I want them to be,” he said. “The goal is to perform better every time we rehearse. They work hard for that.”
CHS Junior and Assistant Drum Major Jacob Richetta said he’s seen a significant difference of growth in the band between now and three years ago.
“This year is the best we’ve sounded and now we have an actual show,” he said. “Along with that, we have great leadership this year to help us develop our sound even more.”