The Mighty Roar, under the direction of Mr. Michael Celenza, began practicing in Aug. and has since performed at varsity home football games, sports rallies, and home basketball games.

According to Mr. Celenza, the Mighty Roar is comprised of 65 students of which a majority are seniors. When musicians first join the band, they choose the instrument that they want to play. The band has three categories of instruments that are available: the drumline, the brass instruments and the woodwind instruments.

“Most of the musicians in the Mighty Roar came to Loyola with little to no experience with their respective instrument. After taking the band class and joining the Mighty Roar, they tend to master their instrument quickly,” Mr. Celenza said.

Every year, Mr. Celenza designates one senior to lead each instrument category. Seniors Kealan Estrada is the woodwind leader; Mason Santa Maria, the drumline leader; and Adrian Sibal, the brass leader. According to Mr. Celenza, the students were selected as leaders to provide support and guidance to the underclassmen.

Sibal has been a part of the Mighty Roar since his freshman year. “Being the drumline leader means a lot to me. It gives me the opportunity to help the other drummers and to make sure that everything is in line. As the drumline leader, one of my jobs is to motivate the band and to encourage them to put forth their best effort.”

Clarinet player Matthew Conde, a freshman, said, “Whenever I need help, I know that I can go to the seniors for advice and tips with playing the clarinet.”

The Mighty Roar practices in the Berendo building on Tuesdays after school every week from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mr. Celenza plans for the band to learn new songs such as “Beat It” by Michael Jackson and “Jump” by Van Halen. Mr. Celenza hopes that these songs will be played during the halftimes of basketball games.

With students increasing their devotion and proficiency with their respective instrument, the Mighty Roar has been meeting less often throughout the year. Mr. Celenza added, “Since we don’t have to rehearse that much, we are now preparing for the basketball season and are picking up some new songs.”

Reflecting on the season, Mr. Celenza said, “This has been a wonderful season with plenty of new members and the expansion of our lower instruments such as tenor saxes, tubas and trombones.”