Most people don’t think of the electric guitar as a “Marching band instrument,” but for senior Vincent Cialini, it’s his pride and joy 

Cialini has been playing the Electric Guitar for around four years. He has been involved with the Dallastown Jazz ensemble since his Sophomore year, and the Marching band since his junior year. 

The section that Cialini is a part of, the Pit/Front Ensemble, is different from other sections in the marching band because they remain stationary and play instruments that marching isn’t possible with, like the marimba, drum set, and electric guitar. 

 “I was at a Jazz event, and Mr. Buer was filling out leadership positions for the Marching Band, and then my friends were telling me, ‘Since you do Jazz, you should play in the Pit.’ I didn’t know what it was at first, but I just said that it was fine by me, so I joined the Pit because my friends told me to.”

Adjusting to the challenges that marching band brings took time at first, but Cialini eventually adjusted to the new environment and began to flourish. 

“At first, it was kind of weird because I didn’t play a huge part at first, even though I was only one of two guitarists instead of being a part of a whole section. Later, I got the hang of it, and I was like ‘Okay, I get to have a little more fun than everyone else and get to be more creative,’ because the Pit instructor would allow me to have more freedom to choose what I would like my parts to look like, and I was able to have a lot more solo parts. It was nice to have that individuality in a section that doesn’t really get noticed as much as the others.”

Cialini became the section leader for the Pit in his senior year and had a solo in this year’s marching band show, Ready For Takeoff. Cialini is now gearing up for his last year in the Dallastown Jazz Ensemble, and overall, a successful year of practicing and playing guitar.