Small band, big sound: ‘New kids have really stepped up’

Members of the Manteca High School band rehearse during fourth period on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

By PEYTON WALTER
The Tower

Cody Marchetti recently took the Manteca High School band on a trip to San Jose State, where they performed during a collegiate football game with about 1,600 other high school-aged musicians.

Marchetti loves teaching band, because of the students, their relationships and shared love for making music.

However, there is a decreasing enrollment in band due to graduation, so he hopes to try and recruit new students from the nearby elementary schools to make sure they stay in band once they get to high school. Despite heavy turnover, the Manteca High band has managed to persevere with excellent leadership and successful events, like the trip to San Jose State.

Twenty-two band members graduated in May and only 10 to 15 of those vacancies were filled by incoming freshmen, according to Marchetti. Nevertheless, the band prospers, filling the hallway and quad outside Addy Hall with sweet sounds.

Manteca High band teacher Cody Marchetti leads the band through a song during a home football game.

“The band works amazingly well together,” Marchetti said. “It’s mostly all a bunch of close friends that get along and work great together.”

Marchetti is impressed with how well the new kids have performed and grown into the experience. They add on to the already family-like feel of the band.

“The new kids have really stepped up and taken over which is nice,” Marchetti said when asked about how the band's performance has been since graduation. “I’ve had to get most of the new students up to a basic skill level so the whole band can work together, but it’s surprising how little the band has changed.”

Marchetti and his band have a few events coming up, including Friday night football games. The band, Marchetti said, will travel to some away games to support the Buffaloes’ decorated football program.

Band also has a concert on Dec. 11.

“We do concert-style music, so it’s not like our marching band stuff where they are known songs,” Marchetti said. “The songs we’ll be performing are written specifically for our band.”

Marchetti has a few students in his class that are positive class influences and great with the other members. Though he controls the rhythm and tempo from his platform at the head of the class, his room is very much a student-led environment. The drum majors are Catherine Beattie and Mackenzie Sandoval. The section leaders are Alyssa Ridgeway, Gregory Collins, Nolan Marley, Angel Murillo, Liam Magud, and Snowden Snyder

“We have some students that help control the whole band and others who help with just certain sections,” Marchetti said. “If I’m gone, they’ll conduct and lead the band for me and just basically help students who are having trouble.”

Manteca High students Shania Pineda and Yesenia Lucas contributed to this report.

The Manteca High band rehearses a song during fourth period on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.