Although the numbers aren’t quite what the music department staff had hoped for, Westbrook High School will be moving forward with a marching band this year.
Phil Rich, Westbrook’s director of music, made the announcement Aug. 22. The band will be made up of about 20 musicians and 10 color guard members, said Rich. Of those, Rich said he thought there were two trumpets and about four each of saxophones, clarinets, trombones and percussion.
“The instrumentation is not great. It’s not going to be easy with the instrumentation we have,” he said. “But at this point, we’re going to do the best we can. We’re going to move forward.”
Rich said he and Kyle Smith, the marching band director, have begun to organize music department staff, choose music and look for someone to write a marching drill for the band.
“I’m thrilled that we were able to put together a program that meets the needs of the students,” said Westbrook Principal Marc Gousse, who agreed the numbers weren’t ideal.
“We’re not out of the woods yet. We need more kids to sustain the program and build upon in the future,” Gousse said. “But we are going through with the program this year based upon the participation we have.”
Rich said the season is starting late, but initial numbers didn’t suggest a band was possible from a musical standpoint. “The instrumentation wasn’t great. Most band directors probably wouldn’t put out a band,” he said. “I like to think about things. I wanted to think about it to do the right thing.”
Rich said this year he plans to scale back the commitment level to about 10 to 12 hours per week, including performances. The marching band will also participate in the Maine Band Directors circuit instead of traveling to performances around New England. This will keep the hours down so that families will have a chance to see their kids play.
Students blame time commitment for decline
Much debate surrounds why the number of students participating in marching band has decreased in recent years. While some band members and booster members have alleged that numbers dropped because of a change in leadership, others disagree.
“People think (Scott Trach, former music director) didn’t want a marching band, but nothing could be further from the truth,” said Jim Siulinski, a 2006 Westbrook graduate and All-State saxophonist
Matt Brady, who graduated with Siulinski and was an All-State trumpet player, agreed. He said Trach asked him to play in the marching band, but he declined because he didn’t feel he could make the time commitment.
Brady added that he agreed to play in the parade band on special occasions out of respect for the community and for Trach, who had asked for his support.
Both Brady and Siulinski, along with several other fellow graduates, said the decline of the marching band was the direct result of disinterest by students.
Former Wescott Junior High music teacher Tony Boffa thinks the decline in Westbrook can be attributed to action by the Maine Band Directors Association, which went from a competitive to a non-competitive circuit. To remain competitive, Westbrook joined the New England Scholastic Band Association, and the increased time commitment from students for traveling caused a decrease in numbers, he said.
Westbrook High 2006 graduate Andrew Morse, a tuba player in the marching band until his senior year, agreed with Boffa that the commitment of about 20 hours per week required for the marching band was too much for many students. He said the numbers had dropped from about 110 members when he was a freshman to just over 80 when he was a sophomore, then to about 50 when he was a junior.
“It was basically the time commitment, the rigorous schedule,” he said. “It was just assumed that during the marching band season that your weekends were shot.”
Eric Moberg, Westbrook High’s 2006 valedictorian and All-State trombone player, agreed that the commitment was too much. “I was planning to do marching band in eighth grade, but when they threw us the schedule, I was like, ‘No,'” he said.
Rich said he hopes the reduced time commitment will help restore interest in the marching band among students, most of whom have packed schedules already.
“It used to be that kids were able to do sports and marching band. Many kids can’t do both now,” said Rich.
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