Written by Henry Anthony

The school band holds a unique spot at Oratory.  It is not that demanding and it simply requires a moderate amount of practice a night to get an A along with once weekly Monday rehearsals.  Despite that, it still has had one of the lowest sign up rates in the school.  Last year the Band had less than 30 members.  This year, though, it has jumped to over 40 students, and has attained a much wider variety of instruments.

This jump in musicians has given Mr. Plagge some problems.  For instance, the number of drummers has reached an all time high of nine, so he needs to find songs for each one to be able to play the kit on.  In addition, he has needed to split the band into two different sessions for the Monday band rehearsal due to their large size.  But, this also opens up new opportunities for the Band as well.

Due to the small size, and limited instrument pool, of earlier years, Mr. Plagge was forced to make the school band a Jazz band.  But with the recent increase in members, Mr. Plagge is now able to have the band big band music.  This is not to say that the band is straying away from its roots.  The band currently has lined up quite the Jazz selection and is aimed to give quite the show at Christmas at Oratory in December.

The new size of the band is a great boon to the program. Though it has caused some problems, it has encouraged a new era for the program.  The growth in the coming years will be quite fascinating and should definitely be watched closely.  The coming years will hold many surprises for the band, and will be quite the ride!