The night air, crisp and cool, blows gently against the group of roughly 50 performers, assembled just outside the end zone of the football field. Some mill around the group conversing, while others stand entirely frozen with tight lips. Someone signals that it is time to go, and in an instant the idle group forms up into neat lines. As massive equipment and props get pushed out, two distinct single file lines emerge. The color guard comes first, followed by the wind players, and finally the drum line at the back. In the air, the rhythmic tap of the center snare drummer can be heard. Eventually the flags are set, the various performers are in position, and the drum major takes the podium. A booming voice comes over the stadium speakers and poses a question, “Drum major is the band ready?” With a sharp click of the heel the drum major spins and salutes the press box.
“You may take the field in competition,” the voice says. And with that the drum major’s hands come up and the show is off.
These moments are the classic succession of events that take place just before a marching band takes the field in competition. For the DHS Marching Band, this is no exception. Yet this season, despite having done this process hundreds, if not thousands of times, it was markedly different for the performers.
With decades of existence, and a storied history, the DHS Marching Band has yielded nine USBands National Championships, 20 New England Scholastic Band Association (NESBA) Championships, and two Bands Of America Regional Championship titles, to name a few.
But, this year, the DHS Marching Band went through this familiar succession with new leaders
With the start of the 2025 marching band season, Marching Band Director Marielle Chrupcala and Percussion Specialist and Assistant Marching Band Director Alex Olivierre took over the reins of the program.
This development marked the end of an era on the leadership level for the band that dates back almost 30 years. Prior to the arrival of Chrupcala and Olivierre, the band program became strong and successful largely under the direction of the Director of Music William Kingsland and Percussion Specialist Thomas Aungst, although the leadership of the program has been changing in the last five years. In 2020, Kingsland retired as Director of Music and was replaced by Ian Flint. However, Aungst remained, and with him the long held standard for Dartmouth was guaranteed to be maintained through Aungst.
But, with the start of this school year that changed. Aungst decided to call it a career at Dartmouth, ending the Aungst-Kingsland era for the program officially. With this, a new beginning was ushered in for the DHS Marching Band. Seizing the moment, Dartmouth school officials decided that there was an opportunity to better structure the music department in general.
Prior to the departure of Aungst, the positions of director of music, the marching band director, and the concert band teacher were all held by Flint, as was custom in Dartmouth. School officials decided that, in this moment of transition, these positions should be split up. Out of this, a new administrative position was created called Director of Fine Arts. Flint would hold the position. This movement, added in with Aungst’s open position, meant that a total of three positions were now available within the music department. And this meant completely new faces would join the program at the leadership level for the concert band and marching band programs.
Two names emerged to fill these positions. Marielle Chrupcala was selected to be the concert band teacher and marching band director in a combination of the two positions. This appointment made school history, as Chrupcala is the first female to serve in these roles. Alex Olivierre was chosen to fill the percussion specialist position. With enormous shoes to fill and high expectations to live up to, these two newcomers have their work cut out for them. Nevertheless, Chrupcala and Olivierre’s qualifications speak for themselves.
Just 23 years old, Chrupcala already has a distinguished resume. A former drum major for the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, and former lead drum major of the UMass Amherst Minuteman Marching Band, she has experience of achievement at a high level. Additionally, Chruplcala has some familiarity with Dartmouth, as she completed her student teaching at the high school last spring.
Complimenting Chrupcala’s skills, Olivierre comes to Dartmouth with a seasoned ability. Olivierre also has drum corps experience. Following his graduation from DHS in 2009, he went on to the Cadets and Carolina Crown drum corps. After aging out of drum corps at 22, Oliverre worked as a percussion teacher at Durfee High School, where he also helped out with marching band. After taking a few years off, Olivierre is back to teaching, but this time with his alma mater.
Despite only being here three months, Chrupcala and Olivierre have already begun to leave their mark on the program.
Chrupcala said her time at Dartmouth has “been great.”
Recognizing the work both he and Chrupcala have done, Olivierre said, “I have worked really hard, and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it.”
Over the past two months, the new directors have been hard at work to develop this season’s field show. But as the season draws to a close, Olivierre and Chrupcala look to make their mark on the program. In the future, Chrupcala sees the program “focusing on maintenance and beyond.”
The two have already integrated into the Dartmouth culture well, noting that “the good thing is we work well together, so there’s no egos or challenges that could have [caused conflict],” Olivierre said.
Chrupala is new to the teaching world. However, she said, “I feel like I’ve been able to learn from the best and see how it’s been done and bring new ideas.”
Well into their band season, the duo have worked hard together to craft a unique show that holds up to the Dartmouth standard and reputation. With only a couple weeks left for the season, both Chrupcala and Oliverre said they are “excited for Metlife and Broadway.” Referring to both the marching bands annual national championships performance at and trip into New York City the following day. With finals just two weeks away at MetLife Stadium, per usual, the band is gearing up to showcase their hard work and dedication to thousands of people.
