On Saturday, Nov. 3, the Cherry Hill High School East Marching Band competed in the Cavalcade of Bands Championship at Cumberland Valley High School in Central Pennsylvania.

Coming into the competition, the Marching Cougars had already had a successful season, taking part in five competitions in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The band placed first in the Yankee A division at competitions held at Clayton High School, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, and Washington Township. 

On their performance at those schools Flute player Azra Kucuk (‘26) said, “We didn’t have tough competition at those schools. We really had a lot of room to improve which we needed to take into our later performances.”

On Saturday, Oct. 26, the band competed at Hatboro Horsham High School, placing second in the Yankee A division.  They were awarded the High Overall Effect Music award for the A Class of bands.

“We received a score of 85.5 at Hatboro, really improving on our typical scores in the low 80s last season,” said Kucuk. Marching band scores are rated by judges watching the performances on a 100-point scale, with better performances yielding higher scores.

Coming into the weekend of the Championship, Saxophone Section Leader Aaron Ottenberg (‘25) reflected on the season up to that point.

“There were many changes this year to our band, most notably having Mr. Palmer take over Mr. Keleher’s role as head director. It was very hard to adjust at first to the change, as Palmer has a bit of a different style, but the whole band’s hard work and commitment to perfecting the music, along with our great leadership from section leaders and seniors have helped us improve from prior years.” 

The band had a jam-packed schedule the weekend of the Championship, performing at the undefeated Cougars football team playoff game at Southern Regional High School on Friday night.

“It is exciting that the football team is undefeated,” commented Ottenberg. “The large crowds that they’ve been attracting due to both their success and the new stadium has allowed us to be motivated to play during games, much more than in years past.”

As the football team advanced in the South Jersey Group 5 playoffs with a 28-21 victory against Southern, the band looked to channel that energy as they traveled with the team to Washington Township for the Sectional Semifinal matchup.

After the football game, the Marching Cougars had to prepare for a long day at the Cavalcade of Bands Championship.

Alexis Bui (‘26), a flute player in the band, said, “The day was mentally straining for us. It was a three-hour long drive each way to Cumberland Valley, so we really had to stay focused to do well in the competition.” 

The band performed well at the Cavalcade of Bands Championship, placing third out of eight teams in the Yankee A division. They finished with a score of 86.95, their best of this season.

“While we were aiming to place top two in the competition, we scored well and all of us thought that we performed up to the high standard we hold ourselves to,” said Bui of their performance. 

The season has ended for the band, after the football team lost 7-35 to Washington Township on Friday, Nov. 8.

“While I won’t be here next year,” Ottenberg said, “our season this year has really set us up to be successful in the coming years, and I can’t wait to see what is in store for our rising underclassmen.”