Strike Up the
Band
Band festival will feature SF alumni band members and majorettes.
BY PAUL GLASSER
W hen Marsha McFalls discovered there’ s
no official record of the South Fayette high school majorettes, she decided to research it herself.
Earlier this year, McFalls, a 1991 graduate of South Fayette, began asking questions about the majorettes’ traditions and legacy. She was a majorette for four years including head majorette for three years. She’ s collected old uniforms, scanned photographs, conducted interviews and built a website to share the information.
“ It took on a life of its own,” McFalls explains.“ I want to build memories for future generations.”
She hopes the upcoming alumni band performance at the South Fayette Band Festival on Oct. 7 will stimulate interest in the project. About 60 former band members and eight majorettes participated in the last performance five years ago. McFalls hopes for similar turnout this year, because most of the alumni still live in the area.“ We old South Fayetters stay here,” McFalls laughs.“ We don’ t move away.”
However, some alumni do live near Philadelphia or in Ohio, and haven’ t been able to attend practices for the performance. McFalls found a way for them to participate by placing an iPad on a tripod and using the FaceTime app to broadcast the rehearsals.“ It was a neat experience,” she says.
As a youngster, McFalls saw majorettes perform in local parades and on TV. She decided to teach herself how to twirl a baton at age 11, and then her mother decided to pay for private lessons.“ I thought it looked like a lot of fun,” she explains.
She became a majorette with the Little Green Machine Marching Band when she entered high school. The next year, she auditioned for head majorette and held that position until she graduated in 1991. She was responsible for planning the majorette routines and learned a lot about leadership. The band director, John Testa, taught students about life as well as music. She learned to work hard and persevere.“ It paved the way for my career choices and where I am today,” McFalls says.“ Band was one of the important things that shaped me.”
She attended Duquesne University where she studied pharmacy and helped revive the Pride of Duquesne Marching Band. McFalls participated as a majorette and also sponsored the group after she graduated. She also completed her doctorate in pharmacy at Duquesne and obtained a master’ s degree in education. McFalls is now an assistant professor of pharmacy at Duquesne and the director of educational technology for the
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