A trio of Bridgeport High School seniors – and soon-to-be STEM majors – were just named among newest members of “Pride of West Virginia” WVU Marching Band.

 

Alisha Pinti and Madewa Adeniyi emerged from a two-day audition to become part of the WVU Drumline and Emily Ogden wrapped up a one-on-one audition with WVU Director of Bands Adam Tobias to become a clarinetist for the Mountaineer Marching Band.

The three musicians are equally excited about their pursuit and each has her own story of what inspired them.

When she was a little girl, Madewa Adeniyi watched the WVU Marching Band in the NBC-televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She was star struck, for sure.

 

“I thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool. I want to do that one day,” she said.

 

She continued to be a parade fan – taking particular notice of the drumline; the grand finale of any marching band unit.  

 

Adeniyi began taking band in fourth grade and it was a given she would play percussion – all kinds.

 

“I played the snare drum and bass drum and also the glockenspiel – which is kind of like an xylophone – I played the same instruments up through middle school, including xylophone and other auxiliary stuff like triangle and wood blocks,” she said. “In freshman band, I crashed cymbals for the marching band and I was in the pit for field shows and games, playing the xylophone or marimba during games.”

 

Her sophomore through senior years, she played bass and liked all the other percussion instruments, she loved it. But she’s excited to go back to cymbals her freshman year at WVU.

 

In addition to marching and concert bands, Adeniyi was a member of the BMS and BHS Steel Drum Bands.

 

Creating music with others makes her happy, she said.

 

“I think there’s something great about being a small part of something huge and making it better than it was,” she said.

 

She can’t wait to put on her WVU Marching Band uniform for the very first time.

 

“I’m super excited,” she said. “This has always been a dream of mine.”

 

Adeniyi will fit a busy rehearsal schedule into her biomedical engineering major. She knows he has her work cut out for her, but she’s up for the challenge.

 

Alisha Pinti is a diverse musician. Repertoire at BHS has included symphonic, jazz, steel drum and marching band music. She’s also been in two different four-piece bands, playing a little alternative, punk and indie rock. This year, she’ll add “Hail West Virginia” to her set list.

 

She has been named fourth bass drum player for the WVU Marching Band.

 

During her four years with the BHS Marching Band, she played snare and bass. She was steered to pursue the bass drum for her Mountaineer Band audition. She was hesitant at first, but now she’s very happy about it.

 

“My private instructor Josh Chiado, who is also the head percussion guy at BHS said he wanted me to put me on bass,” she said. “He said to trust him; that it was his favorite instrument and it ended up being my favorite one, too.”

 

In symphonic band, Pinti said she played whatever was handed to her – marimbas, timpani or any other percussion instrument.

“I wanted to get experience with every kind, so I could be a more versatile type of player,” she said.

 

She and three classmates – Emily Ogden, Megan Rinker and Zela Roets – combined musical talents in middle school. Their rock tunes earned the band the title of BMS Idol in 2014. A different version of the band went on to be known as The Alpha Waves, playing gigs in and around Bridgeport. Recently, Pinti joined a Morgantown-based band, “Before I Sleep.”

 

“My friend who runs the PopShop said he knew of a band that was looking for a new drummer and that I’d be a good fit,” she said. “I auditioned and we just clicked.”

 

Pinti, who also played strings through her seventh-grade year, said she looks forward to her next musical venture at WVU. She said she considered going out of state to study aerospace engineering. With WVU having a good program – and the opportunity to play with WVU Marching Band – she made the decision to stay in her home state. She said it is “the best of both worlds.”  

Emily Ogden is a four-year member of the WVU Honors Band. She decided some time ago that she wanted to be a member of the WVU Marching Band once she became a student at the university. After auditioning Sunday, she received word late-Monday afternoon that she had been selected.

 

Though she’s a seasoned musician – a former member of the BMS Band, four-year member of the BHS concert and marching bands, as well as guitarist for the BHS Jazz Band – she was a little nervous to try out for the prestigious collegiate band.

 

Walking into the audition room and seeing Tobias sitting at the desk was a surreal moment, she said. She didn’t know she would be auditioning before the top man in the program.

 

She left feeling it had gone pretty well. That was confirmed via email Monday afternoon. She’s happy and proud to become part of the amazing marching band she has admired for many years.

 

“I just think it’s obviously a group of really dedicated and hard-working musicians,” she said. “If you’re going to do marching band in college, you must be passionate about what you’re doing and I think that really shows on the field.”

 

Ogden is excited to travel with the band, but perhaps even more excited to perform at the stadium.

 

“I’ve watched this band for years so to be part of it is such a thrill,” she said.

 

Ogden, also a past member of The Alpha Waves, will pursue a degree in biometric systems. 

 

Adeniyi, Pinti and Ogden will start their WVu Marching Band venture with band camps to be held in June and July. By August, they will be equipped to run onto Mountaineer Field, perhaps helping to inspire some other kids to develop a musical talent and set the bar high for their futures.