Way to Go!: Jarod Sullivan of Wantagh, Michael Cuellar of Brentwood
Michael Cuellar, a senior at Brentwood High School, was the only Suffolk County student selected to the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band. Credit: Brentwood School District
Two high school seniors from Long Island are among 125 students nationwide named to the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band, which will perform Jan. 6 in San Antonio, Texas.
Michael Cuellar of Brentwood High School and Jarod Sullivan of Wantagh High School have been awarded all-expenses-paid trips to participate in the prestigious ensemble.
The band will perform during halftime of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in the Alamodome. The game features 100 standout high school players in an East vs. West matchup. It will be broadcast on NBC.
Cuellar plays marching baritone and is the third student chosen for the band in his school’s history. Sullivan plays multitenor drum and is the first student from Wantagh High ever selected.
To be considered, they submitted materials that included videos as they marched and as they played a solo.
“I was really speechless,” Cuellar, 17, said of his selection. “To me, music is really a great way of expressing myself.”
“Going into it, I felt like I had a shot,” said Sullivan, 17. “Seeing the outcome, it really motivates me to move forward into college and into the future.”
Jarod Sullivan, a senior at Wantagh High School, was the only Nassau County student selected to the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band. Credit: U.S. Army
The halftime performance will include renditions of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration,” the students said.
Members of the marching band also will take part in master classes with musicians from the U.S. Army Field Band.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
