Van Nuys : Wolfpack Band to Play at Coliseum

When the Van Nuys High School Wolves take the football field tonight at the City Section 3-A Division championship, fans will be entertained at half-time by the school’s Wolfpack Marching Band, performing the routine that has earned them several awards this year.

Under the direction of teacher Robert Eisenhart, the set the band will play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum includes pieces ranging from the complex, by Dimitri Shostakovich, to theme music from the film “The Last of the Mohicans.”

“They took a lot of difficult pieces and they’ve had to do a lot of work with it,” said Ron Knell, a parent member of the Wolfpack Instrumental Music Support Group, a booster club.

Working around the football team’s schedule of games, the band most recently performed at the annual Royal High School Band Invitational in Simi Valley. It won several awards, including best high marching, best high woodwinds, best high brass and best drill team, in a competition against 12 other high schools.

The drill team also took first place in competition against four high schools. And the band topped the day off by taking home the Sweepstakes Award, beating the other schools for the award honoring a band’s overall performance.

“They were very determined to be the best,” Knell said. “There are some bands that are much bigger--and that’s not to say that other bands aren’t great in their own right--but this one has a certain spirit to it.”

He said much of that spirit comes from Eisenhart, who pushes the students to do their best.

“He gives them a challenge and they always meet up to it,” Knell said. “The kids respect him.”

Tonight marks the end of marching band performances this year. Next year, most members will switch gears to perform as a concert band, while others will break off as a jazz band.