The Penn Manor High School marching band is proving that less can be more.

The decision to condense band camp into five 10-hour days and trade competitions in exchange for festivals is already having a positive impact.

There are 57 members this year as the Comets' band tries to build back up to pre-COVID numbers. "It's up a few from last year," band director Andrew Johnson said. He noted that the increase can partially be attributed to "this being the first year we're not going to go to competitions, and the change in the program and the change in just the overall environment and philosophy how we are approaching band. The schedule is a lot more manageable for students and families this year."

During band camp from Aug. 4 to 8, there were built-in breaks and an hour for lunch. "The idea this year was to shrink the amount of days of band camp, extend the hours a bit, but just take some of the time commitment away from students and free up their lives a little bit," Johnson said.

The band members are getting accustomed to a technology called Ultimate Drill Book, which students and staff members can use to track movements of the musicians. The Penn Manor band boosters purchased subscriptions for each band member.

The Penn Manor marching band is preparing for their fall performance called "Mix Tape," which will be performed at the 10 Comets' varsity football games and four festivals. The set list will be made up of songs from "Guardians of the Galaxy," including "Hooked on a Feeling," which was originally recorded by Bjorn Skifs and Blue Swede and popularized by B.J. Thomas; "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra; "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5; and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

"We just were throwing around ideas like Guardians of the Galaxy and how fun mix tapes are," said Sara Masten, who is an assistant band director along with Josh Rowley. "We wanted to reconnect with the community this year and do stuff that everyone would recognize."

The band directors consider the talents of the band members when choosing a show, but also look at other aspects.

"When we look at the shows and planning everything, if you know there's a certain section that's extremely strong and there's a way to showcase it, we'll do that," said Johnson. "But that's not really the driving force behind it. It's a consideration, but that's not the big piece. It was just the right mix of the music that we wanted, difficulty level that we wanted, and it just fit all the categories that we were looking to hit for the season."

Penn Manor is now part of the Pennsylvania Marching Band Coalition and will eschew competitions for four exhibitions at local schools - Saturday, Sept. 20, at Manheim Township; Thursday, Oct. 9, at Elizabethtown; Saturday, Oct. 18, at Lampeter-Strasburg; and Saturday, Oct. 25, at Ephrata. Penn Manor will also participate in the Millersville Parade on Saturday, Oct. 4.

"(The coalition is) more focused on the students than it is with all those judges' scores and the feedback that they give," said Johnson. "It's really student-centered, and what's awesome about it is that these students work so hard, and usually when you go to a competition, they're performing for a smaller crowd and for none of the other bands of the people who really will appreciate it. But at the coalition festivals, every band watches the other bands, which is really cool."

It was not an easy decision to switch from competitions to festivals. "It was not just an overnight thing where we decided we're going to change course," said Johnson, a Penn Manor graduate who is beginning his 12th year as band director. "We were really looking at what's best for the overall health and well-being of the program and members and how to continue the program going forward in the future."

The plan is off to a promising start with the increase in band members. "The big piece that we're continuing to hear from incoming members is the reason why they wouldn't join is because they just look at our calendar and our schedule, and they see the number of Saturday commitments, they see the number of summer commitments, and it's huge," said Johnson. "We're trying to keep the integrity of the program and keep high expectations for everybody, but maybe dial back the amount of time they have to actually commit outside of school, and the pressure of the competition is off. The quality will still be there. We're still expecting that same quality from them, but we're taking away that the stress and pressure of those high-stakes competitions."

Masten added, "We're just really excited. Vibes are good. We always make good progress, but this year especially, there's a lot of pieces in place that are there, and the energy from the staff and the students and the boosters has collectively been working. We are all in a really good place to start the year, so I think we're going to have a fantastic year."