Inside the band room at Coral Shores High School, five students on percussion instruments, 10 on winds, one color guard and one drum major practice “The Grinch” for the upcoming Islamorada Chamber of Commerce Holiday Fest taking place on Friday, Dec. 5.
“It was a lot at first, starting a whole program from scratch,” said sophomore Garrett Gomila. “A lot of us hadn’t even touched the marching stuff before,” added Gomila, who is the band’s drum captain.
The band program is nothing new for Coral Shores High School, but the last time the school had a marching band was eight years ago. That all changed this year when former Coral Shores band teacher Robert Sax was rehired to run the band program. Sax had spent several years teaching in China before returning to the Upper Keys in 2022.
“Everybody was so happy to have us back. It really felt so good,” said Sax.
Fielding a marching band from almost nothing is no easy feat.
“The kids did all the work; I just wave the stick and look important,” said Sax with a laugh.
But the challenges were many. The first involved recruiting students to march in the band. The next challenge was dealing with missing or broken equipment. And the newly formed band was lacking uniforms.
“What you need to understand is that Robert Sax is a really, really fine person,” said Frank Derfler, Upper Keys Rotary past president. When the Rotary learned of the need, members donated $5,000 to get the band proper uniforms.
Derfler said the donation was a win-win.
“We felt that it really helps to build school spirit and it was a benefit to the entire community,” he added.
According to Sax, Key Largo’s Sunset Rotary also donated about $4,000 to the marching band program.
Sax also needed help with running the program. He did not need to look further than Coral Shores High School chemistry teacher Evelyn Betancourt, who graduated from Coral Shores in 2016. She agreed to serve as the marching band coach.
“I was in the marching band as a student and since we were trying to bring back the program, I volunteered myself to do it,” Betancourt said.
The new marching band officially took to the field on Sept. 12 for the school’s first home football game and band members say it’s been a rewarding experience.
“I feel very blessed. It’s an amazing opportunity to have this marching band especially since we haven’t had one for so long,” said freshman Sienna DePaula. DePaula is the color guard member, twirling the flag to the band’s beat.
“We’re the most peppy part of every football game,” she added.
The marching band is distinctly different from the school’s concert band.
“It’s a lot more physical than a normal concert band where you just sit down the whole time,” said Coral Shores junior and drum major Angelina Ravelo Gonzalez.
“You can get a varsity letter from marching band,” added Sax.
The marching band will be performing “The Grinch” at the 21st annual Islamorada Holiday Fest. It takes place on Friday, Dec. 5 at Founders Park located at MM 87 on the bayside. The marching band will perform at 7 p.m. The festivities run from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
