The Catoctin band is led by Mr. Evan Felmet, and the color guard is pioneered by Mrs. Stephanie Felmet. Mr. Felmet is a CHS performing arts and tech-ed teacher and pioneers the school play and musical with Mrs. Felmet. Mrs. Felmet is the tech specialist at CHS and advises several clubs. The Felmet’s are even more involved in Catoctin’s performing arts. To name another engagement, they also advise the International Thespian Society.
Mr. Felmet arrived on CHS’s performing arts scene in 2017. " I have always wanted to be a music and theater teacher, so Mrs. Felmet and I worked to make it a program that students would be interested in." Many people can agree that the Felmets worked diligently to revive the performing arts department. The band is just an example of one of their many works of art. There is a lot of dedication and time invested into preparation and practice. Before the fall sports season begins, the band is already preparing to perform and march at the games. The Felmet’s host a summer intensive called, Band Camp near the end of July every year, which lasts a week. During Band Camp students learn drills, marching techniques, music pieces, and to work as a team, for 10 hours per day. When the football season is taking place, the band continues to practice for a few hours after school on select days.
In addition, CHS participated in the annual All-County Marching Band Festival. This year, it was held on October 9 at Linganore High School– the weather wasn’t in their favor as they performed in the rain. The festival consists of all FCPS marching bands and color guard teams performing for each other and each team gets scored by the judges. Additionally, the Shepherd University band performed at the festival. The festival is meant for school teams to show off their skills and to learn from each other. Catocin received mostly Excellence titles.
For those who aren’t too familiar with color guard, it is a type of choreographed dance and flag throwing that helps to enhance the band’s performance. Color guard performances take place during halftime at football games. In addition to flag throwing, Catoctin also tosses other equipment such as air blades. CHS is very fortunate to be able to witness color guard performances, as this program doesn’t exist in every school.
The color guard was revived by Mrs. Felmet after demonstrated interest from students. Mrs. Felmet was motivated to pioneer color guard in an effort to provide more opportunities for students to feel a sense of belonging in the CHS community. "There needed to be a variety of ways for students to express themselves, especially in an artistic way." Currently, CHS color guard consists of nine members. Catoctin color guard accompanies the band in Band Camp. They practice new sets, drills, performance songs, color guard techniques,and general marching. During the season, they have practices after school to fine tune their performances. This season, the color guard performs "Starships" by Niki Minaj, "Dancing in the Moonlight" by Toploader, and "Walking on the Sun" by Smash Mouth. Color guard has athletic components too, "You need to have really strong arms to throw flags." Mrs. Felmet pointed out. Catoctin color guard also
participates in activities outside of football games. The team performed in the Rocky Ridge Parade and Mountain City Elks in Downtown Frederick. Recently, they performed in the Gettysburg Halloween Parade. " My favorite aspect [of color guard] is the people and the feeling of landing a toss perfectly," says senior Amelia Phillps.
Of course there are members that have had a profound impact in band and/or color guard.Mr. Felmet described senior Stacey May and drum major, as being a leader in the band, " Stacey has really found her voice this year, and [uses it to] keep players on task." Senior Callie Hench is another noteworthy leader in the band. " [Callie] gets things done. She’s diligent, very intelligent, and is a good communicator," Mr. Felmet puts bluntly. Additionally, senior and assistant drum major George Hawkins is influential, but in a less serious manner. "George brings the energy to the band because of his personality." Due in part to Hawkins outgoing nature, he is able to recruit new members to band and colorguard and enliven the program. This in no way is an exhaustive list, as many members weren’t highlighted– there simply just won’t be enough space! It's important to note that every player is essential to a function band and colorguard.
Mrs. Felmet also put in a few words for exceptional individuals in color guard. Junior Piper Webb, who transferred to CHS in her sophomore year, has introduced new techniques, such as twirling to color guards. Mrs. Felmet comments, "Piper has brought a new level of competition to color guard." Team captain George Hawkins is a very committed member of color guard as he is the first member to participate in the program all four years of high school. "George is an excellent performer, eager and motivational. He also tries his best to facilitate team work." Mrs. Felmet adds.
The band and colorguard also encounter many struggles. Mr. Felmet expressed his concerns about the small size of the band. The struggle with student participation is a phenomenon seen across extracurriculars at CHS due partly to small school size and student efficacy. Not having enough members poses many obstacles as the few interested have to work twice as hard to keep their programs afloat. Although Mr.Felmet's primary interest is in performing arts, he has to take on tech classes as there aren’t enough students signing up for performing arts classes. Another struggle the band faces is personality clashes. Mr. Felmet resolves that conflict by working individuals to reach a compromise. It is evident that the success of the band is deeply rooted in how well players are able to work together, so the band teaches life lessons! The same principle applies to color guard, a member noted struggle with individuals in working
together.
But there are ways to help support the Catoctin band and colorguard program! Since the performing arts at CHS are closely related, attending plays and musicals help to fund their activities. Looking ahead, some fundraisers include a murder mystery theater on January 20th called "Death of a Dead Guy". The fundraiser will take place at CHS in the evening. More details are to come.
The Catoctin band and colorguard programs represent a community of students that aren’t always highlighted, but are still important members of CHS. After all they are still organized extracurriculars but don’t receive the same clout as athletic sports teams.
The Catoctin performing arts is a perfect example of how diligence and investment into your passion can come to fruition. The band was meager when the Felmet’s first arrived at CHS in 2017 but has since grown to 25 members, thanks to the dedication of Evan and Stephanie Felmet.
Read past articles on Catoctin Sports
