Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. -- The Parris Island Marine Band kept toes tapping and hands clapping during a recruiting performance Monday at Tottenville High School, Staton Island, N.Y.
“It was an excellent concert,” said 17-year-old Frank Faniezer, a senior at Tottenville. “My favorite part was the Batman theme song because I grew up watching the cartoon.”
The band not only preformed the Batman theme song, but also King Kong, and several others. “I thought it was going to be a bunch of dull songs, but it turned out to be a lot of songs I know,” Faniezer said. “I was interested the entire time.”
The school’s musical treat didn’t end with modern songs. The band also handed out prizes if students could answer a current event or Marine Corps related question correctly.
Students received t-shirts, water bottles, lanyards or key chains. One student received the chance to conduct the band.
Robert Lanzisera was the lucky student brought up on stage to be the conductor. The 15 year old sophomore received a quick lesson on how to conduct the band from Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christian Flores, the band director, and then conducted the song “Washing Post” by John Phillip Sousa.
Lanzisera finished the song with help from Flores, but was presented with the conductor’s baton as a prize.
“I was really nervous,” Lanzisera said.
Standing in front of professional musicians made Lanzisera nervous enough to not be able to keep the tempo, he said.
The band continued with patriotic songs and a slide show with narration read by Gunnery Sgt. Travis Antoine, the bandmaster.
The performance not only motivated many of the students, but also the school faculty.
The sound created by the band was energetic and inspiring for everyone, said David LaMorte, the assistant principal and visual performing arts teacher. It helped the students understand there is more to the Marines than training for war.
The band concluded their presentation by playing all the services songs inviting the students to stand in honor of a service that meant the most to them.
The band preformed for the high school during a recruiting trip for 1st Marine Corps Recruiting District. Other high schools the band will perform at include Amsterdam, Bethlehem High Schools near Albany, N.Y., and Tantasqua, Malden and Beverly High Schools, near Boston, Mass. The band will also perform a public concert at Exeter High School in Boston.