Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect a correction about the Ohio University Marching 110's moniker.
Ronald P. Socciarelli, previous director of "The Most Exciting Band in the Land,” died Thursday night.
Socciarelli, who directed the Marching 110 from 1973 to 1990, died in South Carolina, after a time in hospice.
“He had a saying, ‘Be better than the best ever,’ " said Richard Suk, current Marching 110 band director. “It’s a saying that we still say. That was always the goal. He’s instilled it into students, and they really respect him for that.”
While Socciarelli was director of the Marching 110, it played at Carnegie Hall in 1976. The Marching 110 band was the first college band to play there.
“The Marching 110 family is sad to hear of his passing,” Suk said. “We are praying for his family.”
sj950610@ohiou.edu
