Marching Band
About the Marching Band
The Penncrest High School Roaring Lions Marching Band hails from Media, Pennsylvania, and consists of Woodwinds, Brass, Battery (Drumline), Front Ensemble (Pit), and Colorguard.
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The band performs regularly at Penncrest's home and away football games, parades in Media, PA, and band festivals in the region. The band has won numerous PA State Championships in both USBands and Tournament of Bands circuits. The Roaring Lions are under the direction of Craig Snyder.
The mission statement of the band reads: "We work as a supportive community to achieve music and marching success." The staff and student leaders use this guiding statement to create the annual goals and activities of the band. While the band strives for group success, we believe this starts with each and every individual in the program. Developing and maintaining a welcoming, inclusive yet demanding culture is the first step to success on and off the field. Through participation in the Penncrest band, students gain crucial skills such as: being on time, time management, communication, goal completion, teamwork, creative problem solving, compassion for and acceptance of others, and the fact that attitude is everything!
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In order to perform its best at football games, parades, and competitions, the Marching Band continues to practice in the form of Wednesday evening practices (4-7 PM), 90-minute weekly section practices.
The Marching Band season is the Band's busiest season, and therefore, benefits greatly from volunteer assistance. Please click below to see current volunteer opportunities.
2026 Field Show:
Ode to Artemis II
Tonight, the Penncrest “Roaring Lions” Marching Band takes us on a journey out of this world to honor the brave men and women who risk it all in the pursuit of science, exploration, and new discovery. We follow the journey of the historic Artemis II mission. For the first time in more than 50 years, humans returned to the vicinity of the Moon, proving once again that when it comes to exploration, the sky isn't even the limit! The Artemis II crew made history in more ways than one. Christina Koch became the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Victor Glover became the first person of color to travel around the Moon. And Reid Wiseman became the oldest person to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
Our journey begins with blastoff, inspired by the music of Apollo 13, composed by James Horner. From there, we traverse the great void of space and bask in its majesty to the celestial sounds of The Planets by Gustav Holst. Our journey takes a dramatic turn as we orbit the Moon and begin our reentry to Earth, accompanied by the theme from Star Trek: Into Darkness by Michael Giacchino.
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Drum Majors: Francis Vernacchio, Shuban Sanakal
Marching Band Director: John Paul Kuhar
Drill Design: Tyler Propfe
Wind Coordinator: Tess Peirontoni
Percussion Coordinator: David Hearn
Front Ensemble Coordinator and Arranger: Jackson Hilburn
Front Ensemble Technician: Jill Smith
Battery Technician and Arranger: Soren Basol
Colorguard Coordinator: Emily Egan
Colorguard Technicians: Amanda Rodriguez, Megan Karwoski, Gabby Landis
Winds and Visual Technician: Bailey Karst
Important Links
Band and Orchestra Instrument Cleaning and Sanitization Tips