Saucon Valley Marching Band Drum-Major, Sam Striz.
Sam Striz is a senior at Saucon Valley High School who also happens to be Saucon Valley’s 2017 Drum Major. Like so many other members of the band you will see that Sam is an extremely hard worker. Not many people realize the rigors of participating in Saucon Valley’s marching band. During preseason band camp double-session practices were held every weekday from 9 a.m. until noon, and then from 5 until 9 p.m. That, my friends, is like a full-time job!
Saucon Source was able to catch up with Sam to ask him a few questions, and this is what he had to say.
Q: Sam, please tell us a little about yourself?
A: I am a senior and besides being Drum Major of the Marching Band, I am the co-founder and president of the Medical Sciences Club, secretary of MODEL UN, president of the National History Day Team, librarian for the Concert Band, a member of the Debate Team and a member of the National Honor Society. Before I was the Drum Major I played the mellophone in the marching band (a marching variant of the French horn) and I currently play the French horn in the Concert Band. I take academics very seriously and am in the top 10 percent of my class. I also recently joined the JV Tennis team. I have also contributed over 200 hours in volunteering at the St. Luke’s University Health Network. I am a proud Slovak-American, being the son of immigrant parents who escaped Communist rule in their native land. Partially because of this, I am very passionate about history–European History, in particular. I actually guest-spoke in Saucon’s Western Civilization elective course this year regarding the unification of Germany in the 19th century. I also have a passion for American and European politics. I plan on attending a four-year university and majoring in International Relations and Economics, along with a minor in either the Russian or German language. I then plan on either attending Law School or working for the United Nations as a diplomat–or both.
Q: What are your primary responsibilities as “Drum Major?”
A: As Drum Major, I am essentially the leader of the band. I am the guy dressed in white on the big podium conducting in the front of the band. I have a plethora of different responsibilities. I control the tempo and change the way the music is being played by every member of the band. Along with the officers, I act as a middleman between the staff and band members regarding questions and concerns. I also assist rookies with marching technique and musicality.
Q: What are the biggest challenges of being the “Drum Major?”
A: Leadership and public speaking skills are paramount in the position of Drum Major. The biggest challenge for me will be to get past the fact that I have one of the most important roles in the entire band.
The Saucon Valley Marching Band made their debut on Friday with their 2017 halftime show during the first football game of the season against Bangor.
Q: How many participants does Marching Band have this year?
A: The Marching Band, including the Color Guard and Front Ensemble, has roughly 45 members this year. The senior class will be graduating a good chunk of them this year. We have four staff members and several volunteers at hand, including the officers of the music program’s booster club–the Saucon Valley Music Connection.
Q: Who are the staff members who help guide Marching Band?
A: Herb Payung is the Director, and Bob Frey is the Assistant Director. Dale Hillegass is the Drill Instructor and Ron Cowart is the Color Guard Instructor. We have Chip Bachman as the Percussion Instructor and Steve Ramon is responsible for Front Ensemble. Matt Piatek is the Drill Writer and Sam Tate is a volunteer assistant.
Q: Beyond the football games, what is your season schedule like as far as the many different competitions in which you will be participating?
A: Besides the football games we attend various competitions and events so that our halftime show could be adjudicated by a series of judges. We are scored on a scale of 1-100. These scores determine our placement for states and nationals. Over the course of the past two years we were able to break 92 at nationals, which are the highest scores we’ve ever received in school history. The first event we will be attending is the Penn State University Band Day on Sept. 16. We are going to basically jam out with the Blue Band in the Bryce Jordan Center and attend the Penn State football game.
The first few competitions are: Boyertown Area High School on Sept. 30, Nazareth Area High School on Oct. 7, Central Bucks High School on Oct. 14, States at Lincoln University on Oct. 28 and then Nationals at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown on Nov. 5.
Q: What are the pieces you will be performing for the halftime shows? Which is your personal favorite, and why?
A: Our show this year is based on the “The Awakening,” a composition of different pieces by Joseph Curiale. For the halftime show we will be performing the following: “Call of the Mountain,” “Adelina De Maya,” “River of Tears” and “Joy.” My personal favorite is “Adelina De Maya.” This is because we performed it in 2015 and it reminds me of past events such as the Disney trip, along with the football team helping continue our season into mid-December of that year. Further, “Adelina De Maya” has a Latin feel that’s just lovable by so many people.
The SV marching band will take part in a primetime “jam” session with Penn State’s Blue Band on Sept. 16 during the Nittany Lions’ football game with Georgia State.
Q: What music would I find on your iPod?
A: If you were to look at my current playlist, you’d find that my tastes are often stereotypically referred to as “Dad Music.” I love classic rock. I listen to anything ranging from Pink Floyd to Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and maybe even the Beatles on a good day.
Q: Can you tell us about your academic course load?
A: I took many great classes this past year, including some that really challenged my thinking, such as Advanced Placement Calculus and Advanced Placement Biology. However, my favorite class was Honors 20th Century Studies. We explored the social and military history of the 20th century. My favorite topics were the World wars and Cold War, as well as the Holocaust and the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. All of these events had a tremendous effect on my family and their history. This is perhaps the reason why I enjoyed learning about it so much. Having the course taught by an amazing teacher was also a giant plus.
Sam and the Saucon Valley High School Marching Band have a very busy schedule this Fall.
Q: What class are you looking most forward to this year?
A: My senior year academic schedule includes social studies classes. Of them, I’m most looking forward to Advanced Placement World History. This is a new course being offered at Saucon Valley. We will get to explore 11,000 years of human history in 180 days. This class is being taught by another amazing teacher, so it is definitely something to look forward to.
Q: Any other interesting info you’d like to add?
A: The Band is on track to have a great season. According to our director, the current group of kids is perhaps the strongest we’ve had in a long time. Our halftime show will definitely be something for the community to look forward to.
Friday night should be another good night for high school football and to catch the award-winning Saucon Valley Marching Band in action. So, make your plans now to come join us for the 7 p.m. kickoff. Sam assures me that the Band will not disappoint with their halftime presentation and that spectators will surely appreciate it. I enjoyed it last week and am looking forward to it this week again!
C’mon out and enjoy the show!
Good luck to Sam and the SV Marching Band. The Source is with you!
