Andy's UNH marching band season wraps up

Dan and Julie day-tripped to University of New Haven on Saturday, Nov. 8, to watch Andy perform with the UNH Chargers marching band at its last home-game halftime show of the season.

Here's a bit of video of the band's Superman-themed show, taken by Dan from the grandstand and capturing some of the drum highlights.



Bracketing the band's performance was a football game between UNH and St. Anselm. The home team led through the first half, fell behind in the second half, took the lead again on a great touchdown pass with 20 seconds left -- and then lost when the visitors ran a few quick plays and scored as the clock ran out!

Seeing Andy & the band at U. of New Haven

On "Family Day" at the University of New Haven, freshman Andy was visited by his parents, Dan and Julie, his sister, Christine, and girlfriend, Shannon.

They saw Andy and the UNH Chargers Marching Band perform their halftime show at the school's blue-turfed stadium.



As at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, Andy's a member of the drum line, playing a set of tenor drums.

The band's uniforms include a stylized image of a horse, the Chargers' symbol.

The band's performance of its Superman-themed show was accompanied by a football game, which the Division II Chargers lost to the Greyhounds from Assumption College in Worcester, Mass.

Here's a video that another band family member or fan posted of Saturday's show. (For a larger view, click the YouTube or Full Screen button.)

Halftime is performance time, in Ohio and Conn.

The University of New Haven Marching Band made its football-season debut this weekend in Connecticut, with Andy on the tenor-drum line. Meanwhile in Ohio, the Hilliard Darby High School marching band played its second half-time show of the year.

Cathy sent along these game-day photos of freshman Stephanie and senior Christopher.

And from West Haven, Conn., we have these photos of Andy at the UNH Chargers' Division II home opener. Dan and Julie weren't at the game, but these were posted on the band fan club's photo-sharing site. Some are from practice, some from warm-ups and a couple from the halftime show.



The marchers did not wear their uniforms on Saturday due to the hot, humid conditions - hence the t-shirts and shorts.

Andy gets early start at University of New Haven

Updated 8/18 with more photos

Andy has moved into his dormitory room at University of New Haven, where he's joining the Class of 2018 as a computer science major. He arrived a week before the general freshman move-in because he's joining the school's Chargers Marching Band.

Parents Dan and Julie dropped Andy off on Friday (Aug. 15). As they took their leave, Andy was meeting his new mates in the band's drumline.

The next day, he was out on the field practicing with a set of tenor drums, as seen in these photos taken by the leader of the band's booster club.

Andy chooses University of New Haven

Andy has decided to attend the University of New Haven starting this fall. He'll be enrolling in its Tagliatela College of Engineering to pursue a major in computer science.

The private university in West Haven, Conn., has about 4,600 undergraduates and some 1,800 graduate students.

The school appealed to Andy in part because of its commitment to "experiential learning." The university describes its approach as "combining liberal-arts education with real-world, hands-on career and research opportunities."

On a couple of visits to the campus, Andy met with the computer-science faculty and said he got a good feeling about the program. In addition, he plans to take some courses in music and sound recording offered by the university's College of Arts and Sciences.

He also intends to join the UNH Marching Band. Andy graduates this spring from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, where he's been a member of the marching band and various other instrumental ensembles for all four years.