Fifty Year Flashback: Marching to the beat of NP
The Knight Crier is offering weekly snippets of NPSD’s 50 years. This week- a quick look at the Marching Knights
Photo Courtesy of the 1969 Accolade
Since 1969, the Marching Knights have been upholding the tradition of playing music at the football games.
October 16, 2015
In 1969, we had the North Penn Marching Knights. Today, the tradition of the Marching Knights still lives on, for they still perform in the stands at the football games, as well as during half time.
Their music for “Bands In The Stands”, is still the same throughout all of these years. The band still plays the traditional North Penn music with songs including Eye of the Tiger, Rocky, and the Knights fight song.
Even though a lot has stayed the same, there has also been quite a few significant changes over the last 46 years for the Marching Knights.
Obviously, the students in the band have changed with each passing school year. Seniors move on after graduation and a brand new class of sophomores comes up to take their place.
Steve Frederick, center, became the band director in 1972 after Bolly Thompson (right) retired. Thompson’s tenure as band director dated back to the days of Lansdale High School.
The band would be nothing without a fearless leader known as the director. Since 1969, the marching band has seen a total of five different band directors, Bolly Thompson, Steve Frederick, Ted Heller, Bryan Clayton, and the current director, Mike Britcher.
The visual aspects of the Marching Knights have changed as well from the uniforms to the show itself. Every year, there is a always something fresh and new.
Not only have the Marching Knights changed over the years, but North Penn has changed as a whole. The Marching Knights are only one example of change of the vast amount of change that has occurred over the last 46 years. The Marching Knights have evolved greatly, and they will continue to in order to keep up the spirit of the Knights.
