Ben is a first year member of our marimba line. It's hard to believe, but he's only been involved with percussion for a couple years. He was originally a saxophone player, but joined the front ensemble his junior year at Downingtown West High School and hasn’t looked back. It was actually Angela, another member of our marimba line, who first taught Ben how to hold mallets. In addition to United, Ben will be marching his second season with the Reading Buccaneers this summer.

Ben is currently pursuing degrees in both Physics and Engineering at West Chester University. If you ever meet Ben be sure to ask him to do an impersonation or speak Japanese.

Here’s what Ben has to say about joining United:

At United, I've not only been taught how to play five-lets, but also how to receive constructive criticism. I've learned to adopt a mindset of believing in myself and my teammates around me, of never looking back and living in the moment, and turning long, tiring days into my favorite times of my week.

To people interested in auditioning for United next season, I would say this: there are always a million reasons not to march, but there's two million reasons you should. You can't do this activity forever, so you don't have time to waste telling yourself that you aren't good enough to audition, or that it will be too hard. I personally did not think I had even the slightest chance to make a marimba spot my first year, but here I am.

#UP17 #SirIsaacsWonder #UPfront