The Marching Maroon and White is something that defines Verona High School. They perform at the football games, go to competitions, and play various concerts throughout the year. However, the band’s budget has been the same for the past ten years. Band director Erik Lynch has had to be extremely frugal when doing things like purchasing props and deciding how many buses to take to competitions. To help raise funds for the 2019 marching season, Mr. Lynch decided to put on “Verona Percussion and Friends” on January 10th, a concert where professionals and VHS students could join together to play for the community.

Mr. Lynch, being a percussionist himself, has many connections to professional percussionists. He invited two of his former professors, as well as many VHS alumni who are in the field of music. The VHS Percussion Ensemble was joined by the HBW Percussion Ensemble, the Rahway High School Percussion Ensemble and Professors William Moersch and Greg Giannascoli. All of these people spoke about how much they love Verona’s music program. They raved about the lineage of the band and how it gives students such an amazing experience.

The concert was a total success. The audience enjoyed performances of classical songs, as well as crowd-pleasers like, “I’ve Got Rhythm” and “Rhapsody in Blue.” Mr. Lynch was proud to announce that the concert raised $2,617 for the marching band. He hopes to use this money to purchase props for next year’s marching band show, something that the VHS band hasn’t been able to do very much in the past because of a lack of funds.

Mr. Lynch wants to thank everyone who helped make the Verona Percussion and Friends concert and success, and he hopes to do a similar concert again in the future!