Pride of Williamstown continues growing and improving under Jed Corra

WILLIAMSTOWN, W.Va. (WTAP) - The Williamstown high school band is continuing to grow.

Fourth-year band director, Jed Corra says the band has nearly doubled since 2019 to 49 members total.

But the growing band size isn’t the only area the program is seeing improvement.

Corra’s time with the Williamstown high school band program, the band keeps getting bigger.

And, in turn, the members are seeing improvement with their performances, quality and routine.

“As well as musically, we’ve all really drastically improved,” says trumpet section leader, Alyssa Stump. “Last year, our moves were really simple during our marching band stuff. But, like this year, because we have a lot more people, we’ve moved on to doing more complex things with more complex music as well. As well as growing as friends and teammates.”

Corra says that this improvement in the band room and on the field is what translates to the group being significant role models in the Williamstown community.

“We’re going out in the community, we’re playing well,” says Corra. “When bands start to play better and be proud of what they’re doing and start having a good product that they’re bringing out. And also, just being respectable outside of when we’re representing the band, it’s helping make people want to be a part of it.”

It’s also what is attracting new band members.

Flautist, Lindsey Keller is one of 22 new members.

“My family members, they’ve been in marching band. And I was like ‘Okay, it’s my senior year. Why not give it a try?’ And since I’ve been in it it’s actually been really fun,” says Keller. “I didn’t think it would be this much fun or like hard work. But it’s a good time. I really like it.”

The increase in size and routine isn’t the only way Corra is getting new members interested.

The group has a new assistant band director, new color guard instructor and many other instructors who help the members.

“I’m not a specialist on every single instrument. I know how to teach it. I’m not the best flute player. I can play it. But it’s great when you have people that are better at that to help these students just improve,” says Corra.

Members cite Corra as someone who has improved this program since his start.

“Mr. Corra, he’s really helped this band grow and everything,” says trumpeter, Truit Robinson. “And made students actually want to learn instruments and help them as instrumentalists and grow.”

This improvement has current members excited about this upcoming season and the future of this program.

“It’s really great to see how far we’ve come from when we started to where we are now,” says saxophonist, Tyson Ball. “And I’m really excited to see really where this kind of goes where they start. And where they end up.”

The Pride of Williamstown will be performing music from the 1980 classic film – and Corra’s favorite movie – The Blues Brothers for its halftime shows this year.

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