The  marching band played at the Schuster Center on Saturday, Jan. 6 for the Sports in Music Concert by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO). 

The DPO originally invited the  marching band to the concert to watch the performance. However, in order to engage the band, they did a joint performance of the national anthem to start the concert instead. 

Adam Uhlenhake, the director of the  marching band organized this joint performance with Neal  Gittleman, the director of the DPO. 

“I got contacted by Neal Gittleman, the conductor of the orchestra, because I wanted to take the band to an orchestra concert. But he wanted to do a collaboration and a joint performance of the national anthem to kick things off so the kids are involved and we can make some great music,” Uhlenhake said.  

The students had an opening performance in the lobby to warm up the crowd before the orchestra played. Many students were excited about the experience a concert like this would give them. 

“It gives us a chance to see how professional orchestras work and it gives us the experience of the music stage and Dayton in general and helps broaden our experience of Dayton’s music,”  Amane Velasquez (10) said.

Uhlenhake was hoping to spread the band’s name through the community at this performance, trying to perform in not just Oakwood but neighboring communities as well. 

“It’s really great to look for opportunities for kids to play outside of their bubble and play at a concert like this. Gets our name out to the community and shows off what we’re doing and spreads some positive vibes with people,” Uhlenhake said. 

The  marching band excited the crowd and is hoping for more opportunities to play in neighboring communities in the future.