The Donegal High School marching band has proven the adage "good things come in small packages." Although the band featured only 19 members this past year, the group had a successful season performing and competing.

"Our show's theme this year was 'Atlantis,'" said Kieran Barber, vice president of the band's student executive council. "The music was based around the idea of this city existing and how the actions of the people led to the city being punished and sinking down into the ocean."

Musical selections included "Atlantis" by Rob Romeyn, "Angelic Celebrations" by Randall Standridge and "Heaven's Light" by Steven Reineke. Janelle Miller performed a trumpet solo in "Atlantis," and Callie Hoffer performed a flute solo in "Heaven's Light."

Along with performing at Donegal High School football games, the marching unit participated in the Manheim Farm Show parade and competed in six competitions throughout the season. "Our competitions went really well this year," noted Iris Thomas, president of the band's student executive council. "We won almost all of them." When the band competed in the Atlantic Coast Championships, which featured bands in its class from nine mid-Atlantic states, the group earned second place.

"Our competitions definitely surpassed our expectations," said Dale Sellers, who directs the band with Nichole Witman, assistant director.

Kieran stated that returning to in-person performing was especially sweet after the pandemic affected the band's schedule last year. "We did perform last year, but not at the same level as we usually do," he said, noting that the band sent videos of performances to be evaluated in lieu of competitions. "It's so much nicer this year, to be together performing as a group. This year, we could do our usual setup and present a much more cohesive show."

Iris added that being able to practice and perform together was only one benefit of the band's return to normalcy. "We're a smaller group, so it's a lot easier to get to know everyone and be friends with everyone," she said. "We have a really close connection with every band member ... and we do a lot of bonding activities like an induction ceremony and pool parties."

Sellers said his goal for next year is to continue to improve the band and continue to grow the group, although he added he's proud of what this year's band accomplished.

"Just because a band is small, that doesn't mean they are not very good," he stated. "You can have a very good band with a small group, as we did this year. It's about quality over quantity."

He said another challenge the band faced was the makeup of its musicians. "Half of our band was percussion," he explained. "Trying to balance that with brass and woodwinds was tricky because percussion can become overpowering if you're not careful. The percussion players did a great job and blended well with the brass and woodwinds. The results speak for themselves."