Randy Rodik, Leetonia band director, explained that when the school last competed 22 years ago, band members weren’t born yet.

Leetonia will not be making the journey on April 25 to Glen Oak High School in Canton alone from Columbiana County.

Also qualifying is Heartland Christian Church in Columbiana, which earned a superior rating during the March 8 in district competition.

According to Joseph Kane, who is the band director for Heartland Christian, this is the second trip to state for his group which went in 2022.

For the second time in as many years, the 62-member Heartland Christian School band has qualified for the Ohio Music Education Association state competition. (Submitted photo)

Although his band is from a private school and significantly larger in size with 62 members, Kane confirmed Heartland will be competing against Leetonia, which is also in OMEA District 8 (consisting of schools from Columbiana, Stark, Carroll, Jefferson and Tuscawaras counties).

Competition classes are based on the difficulty of the music tackled, Kane explained.

As part of the competition, directors have to prepare their bands to perform three pieces, including one from an assigned list, plus a sight reading piece that students haven’t seen before.

Both Leetonia and Heartland Christian have chosen “Black Forest Overture” by Michael Sweeney from the list, the directors revealed.

While Heartland Christian also will perform “Novena” and “Codebreaker,” Rodik said Leetonia have selected the songs “Beyond The Stars” and “Apex Predator” as its competition pieces.

Both schools will learn their sight reading pieces the day of the competition and will have six minutes to learn it before playing it in a separate room with a single judge.

Rodik explained that each school learns the song using a different technique — especially since participants cannot play their instruments when doing so.

Both bands concentrated on the sight reading preparation by reading a new piece of music weekly.

However, he said his group will use the sizzle technique on competition day to get used to the piece’s rhythm.

Both schools looked for assistance from guest musicians to prepare for the event.

In the case of Heartland Christian, which is a relatively young school by comparison to its rivals, Kane had visits from former colleagues: Dr. John Veneskey, formerly from South Range and Youngstown State University; Marc Pupino, trumpet player; Robert Bacha, formerly of Lisbon and Western Reserve; Robert Barnett, formerly of West Branch; and sight reading adjudicator Thomas Brucoli.

Rodik is looking for guidance from Leetonia alumni like David Sensabaugh, who graduated in the ’90s from LHS and is now the band director for South Range High School.

Both high school bands received support from administrators: Jason Norbo and Rachel Brown, Heartland; and Tony Delboccio and Tim Fairfield, Leetonia.

Rodik explained that Delboccio, the district’s superintendent; and Fairfield, high school principal;, were able to be present to observe the band’s district sight reading session in that room.

Leetonia’s qualification for the state contest has been the icing on the cake for the 2024-25 band, which was one of only a few bands to perform for Veterans’ Day festivities late last year in Washington D.C.

“I am really proud of these kids. This has been such a cool thing for our community,” Rodik concluded.