Sanford High School's marching band is tuning up for another exciting season, blending tradition with innovation under the guidance of Music Director Hailey Francoeur. With a strong emphasis on community engagement and student leadership, the band is marching toward new heights in 2024.
The marching band is in the Maine Band Directors Association Circuit. The schedule for the circuit consists of five regular season shows – all scheduled on Saturday nights – and a Maine Marching Band Finals, which will be held at Sanford High School on October 26th.
"Sanford always seems to be a favorite spot to go for everybody," Francoeur noted
The band's first performance of the season was at Wells High School on Saturday, September 14th, which exceeded Francoeur's standards. "We got three stars out of five in all of our captions, which was really good," Francoeur shared. "It was a really good turnout. The students had a lot of energy ... They were pretty pumped after that."
They will travel to Lawrence (September 28th), Westbrook (October 5th), and Marshwood (October 19th) before hosting the finals.
The band graduated "a ton of seniors" in 2024, according to Francouer, but there are still nearly 60 members in the band this year. One of the band's members, senior Quang Lam, said he'd seen incremental growth in the program since he came into the program.
"We've grown a lot. We had so many people last year and again this year compared to when I started," Lam said. "I've also seen a bunch of really talented players that are very experienced, smart, quick on their feet. It's just cool to see that progress as I go through my career."
Behind the scenes, students put in extra effort to perfect their performances. Before one rehearsal, Lam was working with the band's brass section to help them refine their parts. He explained, "We were just kind of practicing our music before we have the actual sectional, just to kind of fine-tune some specific details that we need to focus on, that we can't really get in a rehearsal where there's a lot of other things going on."
This dedication extends beyond just musical practice, as many band members take pride in mentoring younger students. Junior band member Lydia Treadwell shared her perspective on this aspect of band leadership:
"I'm looking forward to seeing these younger musicians grow into the skilled musicians that they already are. But also, really encouraging that space of discipline, and just like a whole passion for marching band as a whole, and looking forward to seeing that transformation by the end of this season."
"If we didn't have marching band, I probably wouldn't have loved music as much as I do. This is one of the big things that I do in the Music Department," she added. "Especially just seeing those underclassmen, seeing where we were before, and we know how they're going through right now, and we know how to help them."
The band's strong student leadership team is key to its success. Upperclassmen are crucial in mentoring newer members, helping with everything from daily warm-ups to prop management.
"Those student leaders really help a lot with how rehearsals get started," Francoeur explained, emphasizing the importance of peer support in an activity where every band member is important.
As the season progresses, audiences can expect to see the show evolve. "We haven't put our closer out on the field yet," Francoeur revealed. The band plans to introduce more props, music, and visual elements to enhance their performance and storytelling as they approach the state finals.