Philo Band Received Top Honor from OMEA

DUNCAN FALLS, Ohio – Dennis Schultice, who is the president of the Philo Band Boosters, had very high praise for the 42-member ensemble. He called them “The best damn small band in the land.”

Philo High School traveled to Canton’s Glenn Oak High School on April 29 to preform for the Ohio Music Education Association and to receive a rating. Erin Brenning, who is in her 12th year as the Band Director at Philo, learned that her band earned a superior rating before her students did.

“I kind of tricked them a little bit,” said Brenning. “We talked about all the mistakes we had made and what we could of done better. And then I kind of snuck it in there that we received a superior and it took them a second for it to dawn on them what had happened, and they couldn’t believe it. And then I actually had to tell them ‘Yes, yes, it’s true.’”

A superior rating is the top honor a band can receive from OMEA. This was the first time under the direction of Brenning that Philo has taken home a superior rating. For senior percussion player Kassie McConaha, the honor came as a shock.

“I was really surprised because we work really hard in this band, we put a lot of time into it. But we can all agree that our performance out there that night wasn’t our best and that we could do better. But we knew that we put our hearts into the songs and that we did the best we could that night,” said McConaha.

The Philo band was the only band in their district to receive the top honor. They will now turn their attention to marching band season, which begins in late summer. For more information about the Philo High School band you can visit their website at www.philobands.com.