The Williamsport Area High School music department is no stranger to earning accolades and, on Saturday, they added another as the Williamsport Marching Millionaires marching band clinched the state championship at the Cavalcade of Bands American Class, beating out 17 other marching bands in the American Class of the competition for the honor.

“The Cavalcade of Bands is one of the most popular circuits in the state, but also includes bands from New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia as well as Delaware,” said Ryan Bulgarelli, director of bands for the Williamsport Area High School.

The win gave the Millionaires their eighth state title, the first coming in in 1979, and 2022 being the most recent before Saturday, Bulgarelli said.

The cavalcade includes nearly 100 member bands, all groups that are competitive marching bands.

They’re then broken down into five classes based upon the size of the group and each group competes against bands of their own size.

Judging is based on five 20 point captions, three based on the musical performance and two on the visual presentation.

“Overall, the judges are looking at how things coordinate together. Am I seeing what I’m hearing? Am I hearing what I’m seeing? How does the music impact the visuals? And how does the visual impact the music,” Bulgarelli said.

The Millionaires won first place in each of the five categories, including: best music, best visual performance, best overall effect, best percussion and best color guard.

The show that brought home the gold for the band is the same one they’ve been performing during their half-time show, named “Toxic.”

“We take popular tunes and then kind of fit them into a drum core style,” Bulgarelli explained, citing “Toxic” by Britney Spears, “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons and the theme from the animated series Rick and Morty, among them.

“We used a lot of greens and neon yellows in our fabric and costuming just to kind of portray this kind of radioactive spill on the field,” he said.

The competition is a 10 week process, for which Bulgarelli lauded the students’ dedication.

“We’ll have a football game on Friday night, then the kids get up early on Saturday, we have a brief rehearsal during the morning on Saturday, and then we drive to wherever our competition is,” he said.

“They just worked so hard, and for them to hear it from that kind of industry professional, that they have achieved at such a high level, for them to have that payoff moment in front of all of the bands and cavalcade of bands, I’m just so happy for them to have that experience,” Bulgarelli said.

“Winning the state title reflects the strong community we’ve built together,” said senior trumpet player Robert Leiter in a press release provided to the Sun-Gazette.

“In our band, everyone plays a role. No one is left on the sidelines. Over my four years as a Marching Millionaire, it’s been incredibly special to see how we’ve come together to become part of something bigger than ourselves,” Leiter said.

“This season has been filled with incredible and unforgettable moments,” said sophomore clarinet player Ava Girton in the press release.

“From band camp to evening practices, football games and competitions, we’ve grown together as a family. I’m proud of everyone who has been part of our journey this year. Winning the state championship is the result of months of hard work and dedication to our shared mission. I am so proud to be a Marching Millionaire,” she said.

But Bulgarelli is quick to point out that the marching band program’s success is a group effort among all the district’s school music programs.

“I think it’s important for us to pause and recognize the fact that it’s not just a marching band accomplishment, it’s not just due to the success of the marching band program. We have such an incredible team of music educators here that kind of lay the foundation for our students’ success at the elementary and intermediate schools, as well as at the middle school,” he said.

Bulgarelli also highlights the enthusiasm of the community as a motivational force behind the school’s success.

“We’re so grateful for the support of everyone here in Williamsport, so hopefully winning a championship like this is something that the community is proud of, and can kind of feel a part of,” he said.

“We look forward to the band program continuing to grow and continue to be something that the Williamsport community can look at and be really proud of,” Bulgarelli said.

For those interested in checking out the award winning show, Bulgarelli advises people to keep an eye on the Williamsport Area School District Music Department Facebook page for any updates.

The band will also perform their show in a standstill performance tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the High School Auditorium.