March 14, 2025
Eustis High School Band Celebrates 100 Years, Jazz Bands Prepare for State Performances
By Kyle Coppola
Eustis High School Band Celebrates 100 Years, Jazz Bands Prepare for State Performances
EUSTIS, Fla. — The Eustis High School Band is marking a major milestone in 2025, celebrating 100 years of musical excellence. Founded in 1925, the program is the second-oldest high school band in Florida and continues to uphold a tradition of outstanding performances and achievements.
As part of their centennial year, the Eustis High School Jazz Bands are set to travel to Palm Coast for the Florida Band Association (FBA) State Jazz Music Performance Assessment (MPA) on March 18, 2025. The opportunity to perform at the state level is a prestigious honor, requiring bands to earn an overall superior rating from a panel of three adjudicators in district assessments.
(Eustis has two Jazz bands which have been performing for 100 years now.)
“We are very fortunate to have two jazz bands at Eustis High School,” said band director Matt Flenner. “To qualify for the state event, both bands had to demonstrate excellence in musicianship and performance. Our top jazz band has made it to the state event every year since 2011, and our second jazz band has also consistently qualified since 2014, missing only in 2024 but making a strong return this year.”
(This is the second Eustis Jazz Band. They missed the state competition last year but are excited to be back in the competition in 2025.)
The centennial celebration highlights the enduring legacy of the Eustis High School Band, which has shaped generations of musicians and contributed to the rich cultural history of the community. And it’s an amazing history. For the first fourty years, the Eustis High School marching band did not allow Black/African American students to participate due to segregration. However, that changed in the mid to late 1960s as the Curtright Campus which was the all black school integrated with the main Eustis High School. As the school became integrated so did the band, athletics teams and faculty.
Being in a band allows you to express yourself especially at the Jazz level. There are so many unique and amazing people who are band members, each with their own identity and they all come together to make beautiful music together. A high school band is what makes Friday Night Lights football so special. Without a band, it just feels different. These young kids put so much work in all year long and we are very excited for their opportunity to compete at the state level!
Be sure to wish them the best of luck as they prepare for what will be 100 years in the making! Good luck!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
