NBHS Band Takes the Beatles Show to Hofstra
The North Babylon High School Marching Band took the Beatles to the Newsday Marching Band Festival at Hofstra on October 21st when they performed a show based on the new “Rockband: The Beatles” video game that came out on September 9th. The band featured North Babylon’s own Fab 4: Andrew Beeler on drums, Russ Frohberg on bass, Zack Vanderberg on guitar, and Jonathan Quarant on keyboards and vocals. Zack Vanderberg and Russell Frohberg, two seniors who were in the rhythm section of Mr. Rizzo’s Jazz Band last year joined the Marching Band just to perform in this show. Adding to the show was the Kickline, advised by Laura Gmelch and Nicole Raymond.
Under the field direction of Drum Majors Jillian Manzo, WooJu Baek and Michael Madrigal, the band opened with "A Hard Day’s Night". They also played a medley of "Back in the USSR", "The End", and "St. Pepper’s Lonely Heart's Club" featuring the Kickline which was led by Kickline Captains Lauren DiNapoli, Marissa DiNapoli, and Samantha Chapman. The band closed with “Hey, Jude.” For this finale Mr. Rizzo put drum major Woo Ju Bael on a microphone to get the audience to sing along with the band, and he put the kickline on the track clapping to motivate the audience. All-State singer, Jonathan Quarant, sang the song and played keyboards. Zack Vanderberg played a wicked solo at the end with drummer Andrew Bieler, and together they brought the house down. In response to the performance, North Babylon Band Director Frank Rizzo stated, “I’ve been involved with the North Babylon High School Marching Band for 28 of my 29 years teaching in the district and I’ve never seen such a positive response to our show like this year.” It was indeed spectacular.
This was another outstanding show orchestrated by Mr. Frank Rizzo and Mr. Jay Orig who are known in the district for their musical innovation. It was also an enjoyable experience for students who were excited to play the Beatles music. It was a way to connect today’s young musicians to the music that their parents grew up with and loved. Mr. Rizzo, who marched with the Brentwood Green Machine in the 12th, 13th, and 14th Newsday Marching Band Festival, shared that history with his students who were currently performing in this year’s 47th Festival. In addition, the Robert Moses Middle School Marching Band attended with their band director, Teresa Pino, and it was a great way for the younger students to see where they will be in the near future when they come to the high school. Talk about a bit of history!
