EA Band’s ‘Rocky’ Show is a Knockout

Group turns soundtracks from Stallone movies into exciting performance

By Kristen Keleschenyi
The Tube City Almanac
September 13, 2024
Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News

Chris Cornelius practices his Rocky victory pose before their performance last Saturday at Penn-Trafford. (Photo courtesy Jillian Miller)

 A new generation of fans is delivering up the beloved saga of the Rocky movies with their 2024 field show.

The East Allegheny High School Marching Band will perform this exciting soundtrack in front of a local crowd at their home competition this Saturday (Sept. 14) at Churchman Stadium in North Versailles.

EA Band Director Justin Rosco says, "This has been on my bucket list for a long time. I was a big Rocky fan when I was young. This has always been in the back of my mind."

There isn’t a lot in the vault to choose from in terms of arrangements or blueprints for a show of this type. Rosco says they borrowed some ideas from a Drum Corps International show from the early 2000s called “The Contender” but everything else has been a creative effort by staff to bring the story of a small-time boxer from Philly who gets knocked down in life, but with the help of his scrappy manager, always finds a way to get back up.

Brass section members Duncan Stone, Brennen Runt (Ivan Drago), Zachary Meredith and drumline musician Ethan Ace warm up before their first competition. (Photo courtesy Jillian Miller)

Many of the band members had never seen or heard of the Rocky movies, including drum major, Brennen Runt, who not only plays trumpet but gets to play the role of Ivan Drago, the indestructible Russian from the movie “Rocky 4.”

Runt was prepared for the multi-tasking of the show because of his experience as one of the “Jersey Boys” last year and his experience as a cast member in EA’s spring musical, “The Wedding Singer.” But there was something new for Runt to get comfortable with.

“Learning to do the fight choreography was not in my usual range of things I’ve done. This is my first experience with fake fighting.”

Runt is one of a handful of upperclassmen in a band that has ten new members, most of which are seventh-graders who have recently entered the junior-senior high school. Having such a young band has been a change for Rosco and staff, who have been used to leaning on the student leadership in the higher grades.

“I think that is one of the reasons we picked this [show]. I felt strongly about this one because I thought we could do a lot of things with the show from a storytelling standpoint to take some of the pressure away. We could put more focus on some of the characterization and the fight at the end to take some of the responsibly away from the young ones.”

Color-guard members Lily Bowman, Eva Saunders, Grace Wright and Alyssa Krisher (Photo courtesy Jillian Miller)

Grace Wright is one of only two seniors this year and one of only four members of the color guard. It has been a challenging year to be in a group of girls so small, with no room for error, but she said her experience in their first competition last week at Penn-Trafford made her very proud. She wants everyone to come out and see the show.

“It’s very energetic. It’s very entertaining. We look great, and we sound good.”

To host a competition is a unique experience for a marching band. They still get judged and receive a score, but they do not participate in the award ceremony. But as Rosco explained to his young band, “In some ways it [a home show] is even more important than championships because it is the one show when everyone is watching you — everything stops. The concession stand is closed, every band is in there and every person in the audience is watching you. That is the one time of the year when that will happen. It’s a very cool thing.”

The EA Marching Band Competition is on Saturday in North Versailles and features nine bands including McKeesport Area, Serra, Penn-Trafford, Jeanette, McGuffey, Steel Valley, South Park, Greater Johnstown and North Catholic. The show starts at 5:30 p.m. and doors open at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens.

Kristen Keleschenyi is a freelance writer in North Versailles Twp. and one of the hosts of the Kristen & Amber Show on Tube City Online Radio at 5 p.m. Saturdays, 9 p.m. Mondays and 4 p.m. Thursdays. She may be reached at kbishop25@hotmail.com.

Originally published September 13, 2024.

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