Eisenhower Jr. High Band Continues Tradition of Excellence

It was a trip filled with music, spelunking and fried chicken.

But the four-day weekend trip band took to Branson, MO, was also brimming with success.

The band took home five separate awards when it competed against 17 other midwestern bands at the Music in the Parks Festival at Silver Dollar City.

The jazz and marching bands each placed first, while the concert band came in second in its class, missing the top spot by just half a point.

Eighth-grader Nicole Perillo received the outstanding overall soloist award for her trumpet playing.

Perhaps the greatest source of pride, however, is the Esprit de Corps award Eisenhower received for the students’ outstanding character throughout the weekend.

That integrity is so deeply entwined in Eisenhower’s students, they don’t even realize how unusual it is for kids their age, band director John Damore said.

“The fact they can hold themselves with such maturity and that’s the standard—that’s really cool,” he said. “My job is very easy. I deal with the cream of the crop.”

The students started preparing for the festival in January during their three-times-a-week band class. The Eisenhower Band Boosters, led by Julia and Ken Kohnke, took care of most of the administrative prep work associated with the competition.

Participating in the annual band trip is a family tradition for many of the students.

“For a lot of the kids in band, their parents were doing the exact same thing at Eisenhower 25 or 30 years ago,” Damore said. “It’s something the kids have known, some for their entire lives.”

Nicole said it was thrilling to play in large venues, including the 2,500-seat Tri-Lakes Center. She said she also loved getting feedback from the panel of judges that would help her grow as a musician.

She was so shocked to win the outstanding soloist award, she said she thought that she was in trouble when the judges called her name.

“I didn’t really get it,” Nicole said. “I thought (my solo) was good, but I didn’t think it was outstanding.”

Drum major Sarah Hanson said she loved the chance to travel somewhere fun while showcasing Eisenhower’s talent to others in the Midwest. In addition to competing, the students went to a water park, spent a day at the Silver City Amusement Park, went spelunking in Talking Rocks Cavern and ate a lot of fried chicken.

Trombone player Jack Cunningham, who wants to one day be a band director, said he played in the competition with confidence because of the training he’s gotten at Eisenhower.

“I know we play really well, and with Mr. Damore, how could we go wrong?” said Jack sincerely.