The roar of the crowd, the feeling of cold, hard brass between fingers, the sight of your bandmates marching in lockstep with you out of your peripheral vision. You raise your horn to the sky, get into position on the field, and wait with anticipation as your drum major drops their arms, counting you in.
This imagery may go over the heads of the unacquainted, but to anyone with marching band experience, the thrill of this moment is wholly unique.
Mitchell Huston, Sales Advisor at Phoebe Richland, knows this feeling intimately. A humble individual, Huston’s musical side might come as a surprise to the Phoebe community at large.
Born and raised in Bethlehem, Huston’s father was a music teacher for over 30 years.
“I had no choice but to get into music,” Huston jokes. Both of Huston’s sisters are musically inclined, as is his mother. Huston’s parents taught private lessons out of Huston’s childhood home. It wasn’t uncommon for the sound of music to be emanating from within the house as late as 7 p.m.
“It didn’t take long before we were doing everything musical at that point,” says Huston. His main instrument has been the trombone from the start, but Huston also plays the baritone and tuba.
Naturally, concert band and wind ensemble were a large part of his middle school and high school education, but marching band ended up being Huston’s true love.
“Oh, it just invigorates me!” he exclaims.
Huston graduated from West Chester University in 1977 as a business management major with a minor in marching band. While there, Huston threw himself into the University’s nationally acclaimed band. Known for their size and raw talent, the Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band often participates in exhibitions and competitions in addition to home football games.
Huston’s love of marching band would translate to a plethora of impressive leadership roles over the course of his life.
From 1975 to 1989, Huston taught bands at various high schools. This included writing their field shows and leading them through competitions. He also got very involved in the competitive indoor guard scene and drum corps.
“It’s quite the task to teach an organization, advance it, work with the parents, put together a competitive marching band schedule, etcetera,” says Huston.
This challenge never deterred Huston, however. He would soon become a Chariman/On-Site Manager for the Drum Corps International (DCI) Eastern Classic Championships and the Director of Taps Over Bethlehem.
Perhaps his most impressive accomplishment of all is being a core founder of the Collegiate Marching Band festival in Allentown, PA. This yearly festival brings together marching bands of all sizes and styles to J. Birney Crum Stadium for a grand showcase of the region’s talent.
It’s hard to overstate the life that Collegiate has taken on over the years. It is currently one of the largest marching band festivals in the Northeast, and it is a beloved highlight for any marching band fans. This year, Collegiate packed J. Birney Crum with 5,000 attendees, catered by 10 different food trucks.
As Event Organizer, Huston handles many of the logistical needs of the event, which includes working with the city to ensure the event complies with Allentown’s various departments. Huston was among the small group of people who first organized the event back in 1996.
The idea for Collegiate arose in response to a lack of community events focused solely on marching bands.
“Unfortunately, when a band goes on at halftime at a football game, most people are either talking, going to the concession stand, or they really don’t care about what’s on the field,” says Huston. “The kids come out [to Collegiate] and they’re like, ‘Here’s 5,000 people that are here to watch us perform.’”
That creative outlet has been instrumental in both the lives of young band students and Huston’s own.
“The nice thing is that every band is appreciated, no matter the size,” says Huston. “The place goes nuts.” At Collegiate, marching bands are the main event.
Huston still enjoys greeting bands at the gate shortly before they go on, wishing them luck. He’ll always watch West Chester perform from the sidelines in support of his alma mater.
Music is still a large part of Huston’s life. Aside from organizing Collegiate, Huston is also a current member of local big bands and a brass quintet. These opportunities have allowed Huston to perform for Phoebe residents on multiple occasions.
Huston has been working in sales at Phoebe Richland since October 2016. He brought a wealth of sales and marketing experience to the role, spanning over seven years of senior living experience.
Huston says the thing that has kept him passionate about senior services is the gratification of knowing that he has helped a family get their mom or dad into a comfortable, life-enhancing environment.
In fact, Huston is strongly driven by the heart and prosperity of the Phoebe Richland community. He knows virtually every resident’s name, including many of their children’s names. Fostering that relationship has been vital to Huston’s role, and he takes great pride in it.
Similarly, Huston wants to help residents feel pride in what they’ve accomplished. This is clearest in Huston’s support of resident veterans.
Huston’s dad was a Navy veteran whom Huston looked up to. Additionally, Huston helped form the American Legion Band in Bethlehem. Both of these things meant that Huston was surrounded by veterans his entire life.
“It felt natural when I got to Phoebe that I would continue to be surrounded by them,” says Huston. “I started hearing more and more stories from these brave individuals.”
Huston does a lot of organizing around Veterans Day, Flag Day, and Memorial Day at Phoebe Richland with the help of the Community Life team. Many of these festivities have included a commemorative performance from Huston and his brass quintet.
With the help of the Phoebe Marketing Team, Huston also placed signs recognizing each veteran resident of Phoebe Richland outside of their respective apartments. Huston believes that it’s a meaningful gesture to recognize our veterans year-round.
One of Huston’s favorite memories at Phoebe came when an active member of the military visited the veterans of Phoebe Richland.
As Huston showed the military visitor around, they had arrived at the door of a resident veteran who had difficulty standing up. Huston recalls that, upon the resident seeing the military man in his fatigues, he shot right up out of his seat to salute him.
“There was no hesitation,” Huston remembers with awe.
Huston wants to continue honoring veterans however he can as a token of appreciation for their service.
“The smile on their faces when they know they’re being thanked for their service is priceless,” he says.
As for Huston himself, he plans to continue holding music close to his chest for as long as he is able. He’s a busy individual as is, and he doesn’t anticipate that changing anytime soon.
Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Phoebe Ministries would like to congratulate Mitchell Huston for receiving the 2025 Chamber Impact Award from the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce. This distinction reflects his unwavering dedication to the local community.
To learn more about Phoebe Richland, please visit phoebe.org/richland.
Written by Dominic Trabosci
