Marching Red Devils to Begin Season With Friends and Family Preview

Burlington High School's marching band, fresh off a successful 2024-25 school year, is set to open the season this week with their 10th annual Friends and Family Preview Show.

This week the band, which includes the color guard and drum corps, will debut their 2025-26 show, Epic Journey, which they've been perfecting through summer band camp. The camp is "two weeks of intensive training where the kids go every day from 2-9, regardless of the weather, practice the drills, blocking, and music, and get excited for the season," said Barbara Martinez, whose daughter Elena is a senior in the Marching Red Devils. "New members get to know the basics, veteran members take on leadership roles to lift up new recruits, and everyone has a blast!"

Membership in the marching band, co-directed by Faydeen Sateriale and Tim Ketterer, has exploded in recent years, and last year their hard work was rewarded by an invitation to march in the Hasty Pudding parade honoring Cynthia Erivo. They also traveled for a number of events and competitions around the state and won first place in the USBands competition for their class – a contest that, this year, BHS will be hosting on October 18.

Martinez said the program gives kids confidence and real-world skills in addition to honing their musical abilities. "The kids build incredibly strong relationships, gaining skills in musicality, discipline, physical fitness, focus and attention to detail, creativity and quick problem solving," she said.

The Preview show will take place on Thursday, August 21, 2025, on Burlington High School's Varsity Field, and all community members are welcome to come see this year's show and demonstrate their support to the band. The evening will begin with an open practice from 6:30 to 7:30, with the show starting in earnest at 7:30.