Abington Senior High School honored music teacher Mr. Joseph Detato on his retirement after 26 years with the district.

According to a 2022 interview with The Abingtonian, Mr. Detato taught high school band and elementary school lessons in his early years at Abington. An excerpt from the interview:

I also teach a course called Interdisciplinary Studies. It’s a course for seniors, encompassing English, Social Studies, Art, and Music. We do these big units where we connect the dots between all these disciplines. Right now we’re going through a lot of things relating to Greece. In class so far, I know that we’ve studied things like Greek tragedy and Greek myths—Mr. Turner is in charge of that. We’ve also done Greek history, Greek art, and Greek Theater. Our final project is usually myths in the style of Greek music, with music being my specialty. In the end, we work to tie all of it together.

The following quote was provided by students:

Mr. Detato has truly been one of the best band teachers ASHS has had over the years, and as a band director, he has been the best mentor and friend anyone could have asked for. The seniors of the Marching Ghosts, Jazz band, and Concert/Symphonic Bands want to thank him for some of the best years we have ever had. He has truly inspired us to pursue music and performance in more ways than we could ever imagine, and we are so grateful to have had him as a mentor. It’s been wonderful, and we can’t wait to use the skills you have taught us in the real world.

You can watch FOX29’s clip below which features Mr. Detato and the Abington Senior High School marching band in 2022:

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Photos: ASHS