The heroes from the marching band will embark on a journey to win a state championship

The "heroes," according to Nick Mossa, are the students who form the marching band at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.

"The best thing about what we do, is working with the kids,’’ said Mr. Mossa, who is the high school’s Marching Band Director.

And those students who make up this highly-regarded marching band will be performing to the theme of “The Journey of a Hero’’ this autumn.

During each fall season, the marching band plays to a theme during its competitions.

Last year, Bridgewater-Raritan’s marching band performed the theme of “Going for Gold.”

Bridgewater-Raritan eventually placed third in its class during the New Jersey Marching Band Directors Association (NJMBDA) State Championship on October 30, 2022, at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

That showing came one year after Mr. Mossa and Dr. Tom Bourgault, the Assistant Marching Band Director, guided Bridgewater-Raritan to the state championship in its class.

The theme this year, according to Mr. Mossa, is based on the book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,’’ which was written by Joseph Campbell.

“It is telling the story of all heroes and what they go through, no matter what the time period,’’ Mr. Mossa explained. “It is universal.’’

Bridgewater-Raritan’s journey to retain a state championship will perform one class level up at the 3A level.

“We moved up a class due to the band’s growth,” Mr. Mossa said.  “Now we will have new bands to compete against.’’

The popularity of being a member of the Bridgewater-Raritan marching band is at its highest point ever.

Mr. Mossa reported that there are 77 students who comprise this year’s team, which is an increase from the 69 students who performed last year.

“We are trending. This makes it three years in a row that we have gotten bigger,’’ Mr. Mossa reported.

While Bridgewater-Raritan has stepped up in class size, Mr. Mossa is pleased with how his musicians have performed.

That confident attitude was a result of when Bridgewater-Raritan competed in the NJMBDA Preview Show on Saturday, September 16, at Phillipsburg High School.

“There was no scoring in Phillipsburg but we received some good feedback from the judges,” Mr. Mossa said.

Bridgewater-Raritan will launch its NJMBDA competition on Saturday, October 7, at Piscataway High School.

That will be the start when these "heroes" launch their journey to the state championship production at The College of New Jersey on Sunday, October 29.

This trip also includes NJMBDA competition at Monroe Township High School on Saturday, October 14, and at East Brunswick High School on Saturday, October 21.

On Saturday, October 28, on the eve of the state championship event, Bridgewater-Raritan will compete in the Band of America Regional Championship at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium in Piscataway.

“The outlook looks very good,’’ Mr. Mossa shared about the marching band’s quest for a state championship.