The Solanco High School marching band wrapped up its three-week band camp on Aug. 25 with a full production preview show and parents' booster night. The band camp started at the beginning of August and consisted of a rigorous schedule during which students learned drills and music from the program to prepare for the upcoming season.

The theme of the show is "Hear, There and Everywhere: The Music of the Beatles." The show includes a variety of pieces inspired by the rock band's discography, from "Magical Mystery Tour" to "Blackbird" and closing with "Hey Jude." "My primary goal is to find a program that will be a challenge visually and be a challenge to play, but is still accessible to the kids and the audience at the same time," said band director Scott Weyman. "The kids were really excited when we announced the theme and that excitement has carried through the camp, making it very successful." Weyman has worked with the Solanco band for 20 years and collaborated with drill designer and writer Ken Zimmerman for the last four years to develop the marching band program.

This year, the program took a different approach and introduced new choreography for the color guard. Debbie and Tiffany Shrom of Debbie's School of Dance have been introduced to the program to blend elements of dance with the traditional elements of color guard. "My vision for years has been to combine those two elements. We've always leaned in that direction, but this is the first year that we're actually incorporating it," said Weyman. "The process has worked seamlessly. We're trying to grow the program into something new and different." Debbie's School of Dance has worked on various musicals with Solanco High School in previous years, and Tiffany is a Solanco High School alumna.

The Solanco marching band is a member of the Pennsylvania Marching Band Coalition, formerly affiliated with the Lancaster-Lebanon Music Educators Association. As a member, the band is able to perform in a non-competitive environment several times throughout the season. "We love playing the football games, but there's something super special about performing for a marching band crowd," said Weyman. "The kids get to watch each other perform for the whole show and they love being able to get together for the finale and perform together." The Solanco marching band will perform at the Lancaster Catholic High School showcase on Saturday, Sept. 24, Manheim Township High School on Oct. 15 and have its finale performance at McCaskey High School on Saturday, Oct. 29.