TOWAMENCIN – The North Penn Marching Knight’s have a rich history of success; the 2011season only serves to reinforce this track record.

 “I knew this had potential to be a very special group this year but I don’t think any one could have said we went in expecting to win,” said director Mr. Mike Britcher.

However, win they did. Last weekend the Marching Knight’s traveled to Annapolis, Maryland to compete in the U.S. Scholastic Band Association’s national championship. North Penn took 1^st place in-group 4 achieving a score of 96.938 out of 100 points.

“I personally had never won anything this big and to finish three great years with such a successful organization made up of so many great people has been more than I could ever have dreamed it would be,” says senior Paul Carter.

This USSBA National Championship victory is the icing on the cake when examining the Marching Knight’s season. In the 2011season the band went undefeated. They achieved first place at every competition they attended, even winning first place overall out of all the groups, outscoring many larger bands. Aside from the victory at nationals, other major wins included the competition at James Madison University and State Championships held at West Chester University.

The Marching Knights competed against fifty bands at James Madison and were named grand champion. The win at West Chester earned them the title “State Champion.”

“Every single member put in their best effort to make this such a successful season. Everyone’s dedication and perseverance through the many obstacles in the seas helped up succeed,” says Carter.

Students have to work hard in order to produce such amazing results

“We practice every week night except Wednesday, from 6:30 to 9:00. Saturdays are all day, from around 9:00 am to midnight depending on when the competition is. Band camp is all of August except weekends, for nine hours a day. We also have mini band camp in June, and sporadic practices during July. So it’s literally band all the time and nothing else,” says senior Emily Czudak.

It isn’t just the students who show commitment; the design team must work equally as hard in order to create an excellent show. This year the team worked especially hard. Usually a performance is created using music adapted from a pre-existing piece. This year all the music played by the Marching Knights was original never before heard material created in order to enhance the shows overall feel.

“The students really enjoyed the music; it was very different. It was a very fresh production for them because it wasn’t music they have heard anywhere else,” said Britcher.

The respect and admiration of the band for their director and his staff’s hard work quickly becomes apparent.

 “Without them, we couldn’t have pushed ourselves as hard as we did this season, and it obviously paid off,” states Czudak.

Typically, to be in the Marching Knights students had to participate in both the competitions and the football pep band. However, this year with the new Friday Knights program, students can participate in only the pep band if they so chose.

“The football band was really an outgrowth of me recognizing that the competitive marching band show is not always the best performance to put on at a Friday night football game. The music  that we perform there at time we are really designing it for the judging community and that’s not always the best thing for folks to listen on a Friday night,” says Britcher.

The program was started both as a way to reach out and increase involvement and recruitment in the marching band, and create a show that brought more of a sense of school spirit to the football games.

In the words of Mr. Britcher “First and foremost the students have to move well; they have to play well, and we as a design team have to design a great show for them to perform. When you’re putting the show together you want to think about what do you want the audience to take away from the performance.”

It is due to the team’s dedication and perseverance to adhere to this “code of performance” that the North Penn Marching Knight’s are once again National Champions.