‘A Nation in Motion:’ Marching Huskies bring bold red, white and blue flare to a milestone season
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LEWISTOWN -- The Mifflin County High School Marching Huskies are stepping into the 2026 season with a show that feels tailor‑made for a milestone year in American history -- and they're already pushing it across the field with color, motion, and unmistakable patriotic flare.
Their production, “A Nation in Motion,” marks the 250th anniversary of the United States, giving the band a chance to build a program that looks and sounds like a celebration of the country's musical beginnings.
Mifflin County High School Director of Bands Brandon Kahley said the anniversary offered a direction that immediately resonated with the staff and students.
"This year's show is happily focused on the patriotic year of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America," Kahley explained. "It has given the staff and students the ability to dig into the musical roots and play variations of familiar traditional tunes like 'Yankee Doodle' from 1755 and 'My Country Tis of Thee' from 1831."
Those melodies form the spine of the show, but the Huskies have expanded them with modern musical color. Brass lines stretch the familiar themes into fuller harmonies, woodwinds carry quick ornamental runs that brighten the texture and the percussion battery drives the pacing with crisp, martial‑style rhythms.
The arrangements give the historic tunes a fresh lift, turning early American music into something that moves with contemporary marching‑band energy.
Visually, the show leans into its patriotic identity. Red, white and blue elements sweep across the field as the drill opens into wide formations, then tightens into compact blocks that punch the accents.
Flags flash in coordinated bursts during key musical hits, and the ensemble's movement mirrors the score -- expanding during broad, hymn-like phrases and accelerating during the faster colonial‑era motifs. The show's pacing gives spectators a clear sense of motion, fitting for a production built around the idea of a nation growing and changing.
The season is already underway, and the Huskies have begun settling into the show's rhythm. Kahley said the early part of the year always feels scattered, but the production has started to take on its full identity.
"I like how everything is slowly coming together," he said. "It always seems confusing in the beginning, but as the year progresses and the students learn their parts more and more it really starts to come together as a wonderful idea for a show."
The band is marching 72 students this fall, supported by one of the largest senior classes the program has had in recent years. That senior presence shows up in the ensemble's steadiness -- cleaner step‑offs, more confident releases, and a clearer sense of how to shape the show from week to week. Coming off last year's title win, the expectations didn't need to be restated.
"There is not much difference between this year and last year coming off a title win," Kahley said. "The students still hold themselves accountable for their progress and success this year just as they did last year."
Even with experience and momentum, the season has brought its share of challenges. Kahley said the job continues to shift in ways that keep him adjusting.
"For me, just when I thought I felt more confident in my understanding of my role here things got crazy and intense," Kahley said. "There will always be some sort of curveball to keep me on my toes it seems."
Those curveballs haven't slowed the band's progress. "A Nation in Motion" has begun to reveal its personality -- a blend of historic melody, modern arrangement, and patriotic color. The familiar tunes give audiences an immediate entry point, while the Huskies' musical and visual choices lift the material into something larger than nostalgia.
With several performances already completed, the band has entered the portion of the season where repetition becomes refinement. The students know the show now -- where the crescendos open up, where the drill needs sharper angles, where the percussion pushes the tempo, and where the brass needs to anchor the sound. The patriotic theme gives the Huskies a clear identity as they move through the fall, offering Mifflin County a soundtrack tied directly to the nation's 250th year.
As the season continues, “A Nation in Motion” will carry red, white and blue flare into every stadium the Huskies enter. It's a show built on tradition, shaped by musical detail, and performed with the steady confidence of a group that understands how to honor history while moving forward.
This year's Marching Huskies include:
Piccolo
Katrina Spickler, senior
Emma Pierce, freshman
Flute
Breanna Carmany, senior
Sariah Unger, senior
Lexi Byler, junior
Meadow Brown, seventh
Clarinet
Makenna Earnest, freshman
Jillian Kauffman, sophomore
Emma Peachey, freshman
Sommer Smith, sophomore
Kenzie Schiech, freshman
Mason Wian, eighth
Lillian Bolling, seventh
Nevaeh Hammill, seventh
James Fortuna, seventh
Bass Clarinet
Jasmine Woodward, seventh
Emma Fink, seventh
Alto Sax
Griffin Damicantonio, senior
Sophie Kise, eighth
Bailey Horner, senior
Sierra Snyder, freshman
Nolan Wade, eighth
Evelynn Parkes, seventh
Mellophone
Brenna Bickel, freshman
Relayna DeArment, sophomore
Aria Hartley, freshman
Trumpet
Kyler Baker, senior
Abi Riden, junior
Scarlett Daer, eighth
Trae Kerstetter, senior
Lexis Wray, sophomore
Amara Deckman, freshman
Abbi Snyder, eighth
Skylar McCullough, seventh
Trombone
Kaden Baker, senior
Gage Clinger, sophomore
Tenor Sax
Alessa Norris, senior
Baritone
Isaac Coldren, eighth
Tuba
Idabeth Bishop, ninth
Drumline-Battery
Marquise Siennick, junior
Aden McCarl, senior
Dylan Noerr, sophomore
Dylan Hagerty, senior
Reiss Miller, senior
Kayden Rodriguez, junior
Airalynn Alexander, eighth
A.J. Dean, eighth
Bell Matthews, freshman
Gracen Heckendorn, eighth
Wyatt Simonetti, junior
Taylor Kelley, seventh
Jake Wian, sixth
Drumline-Pit
Brody Harshbarger, ninth
Noelle Dolin, seventh
Teagan Pisko, senior
Maddy Clinard, senior
Emma (Rayne) Schultz, senior
Michael Baumgardner, junior
Jackson Stewart, junior
Emma Keller, eighth
Color Guard
Kenadi Royer, senior
Katelynn Rupert, sophomore
Catalina Snyder, senior
Allison Harlan, eighth
Peyton Colyer, eighth
Cadence Diehl, eighth
Miley McNitt, senior
Mika Bunawan, senior
Kelly Bunawan, junior
Max Everts, junior
Riley Matthews, eighth
Lily Barlett, senior