Students in record numbers are turning up for the various band programs at the two Fox C-6 School District high schools.
After a drop in participation during the COVID-19 pandemic, band enrollment has rebounded and continues to grow steadily.
“We’re on Year Four of having more beginners than the year before,” said Seckman High band director Ben Middleton. “It has a lot to do with recruiting and retention. We do that by having great teachers and good support from administration, counselors and teachers.”
Fox High director Anthony Jackson said the biggest growth there is in the concert and jazz groups.
The Fox and Seckman bands will take part in the Arnold Days Parade, set for Sunday, Sept. 20, the final day of the annual festival.
Parade
Jackson, 34, of Imperial is in his third year with Fox C-6, although this is his 12th year of teaching.
He said the Fox program includes 190 students across three concert bands and two jazz bands. Ridgewood and Fox middle schools also have active jazz and concert programs.
Fox will play “Rock you Like a Hurricane” for the parade.
Jackson said he has been looking for opportunities to get his jazz bands out and about to perform.
“One of our goals is trying to find more ways to be out in the community,” he said.
Middleton, 46, of Arnold, a 1998 Fox High graduate, is in his 24th year teaching for the district.
He said the Seckman program includes 164 students across seven groups of marching, concert and jazz performers. Quite a few of them take part in more than one group.
His band will play the Michael Jackson classic “Thriller” for the parade.
Middleton confesses the song selection didn’t originate with him.
“Mrs. Middleton is the world’s biggest Michael Jackson fan,” he said with a laugh. “Our family has seen the (recently released biopic) movie four times in the theater. I found a great arrangement of it, so that’s what we went with.”
He said paradegoers may be in for some unexpected surprises, although there is one constant for the annual parade: weather.
“You may see some silver gloves as a tribute, and there may be some dancing,” he said. “And, of course, it will probably be hot. It’s been hot on parade day for the last 17 years, so that’s what we expect.”
Field shows
The Seckman band’s field show this year is called “The Ripple Effect,” featuring original music that paints a picture of the way one word or action can have an effect on the rest of the world.
“We purchased the show as a package – music, sound design, the whole thing,” Middleton said. “There’s no talking people out of the water aspect – the way you cast a stone into water and make a ripple. But it’s really more about people and how one person can affect the rest of the world.
“The kids love the music, and the size and instrumentation of our band work well with it. There’s a narration that kind of guides the audience through it with us. We debuted it last week (at the Aug. 28 football game) and got a lot of compliments.”
Seckman drum majors are senior Brooke Castine and junior Juliet Anderson. Assistant directors are Nicole Wise, Joe Simino and Keegan Turney, with Fox alum Allison Barton and Kenzie Dieker heading up the color guard. Assistant percussion instructor is Kadence White.
The Fox High band’s field show this fall is called “Unbroken: The Threads that Remain.”
Jackson said it is centered on the story of the Greek Fates.
“It tells a story of fate/destiny, humanity and the strength to live life fully,” he said.
Fox drum majors are seniors Elaina Appelhans, Devin Harper and Alyssa Twitchel and junior Isabella Voege.
Assistant directors are Zack Thomas, Ridgewood Middle School director; Alex Sharkey, Fox Middle School director; and Zack West, who teaches jazz in both middle school programs.
Competitions
Both the C-6 high schools’ marching bands will take to the field for a number of competitions this fall.
Seckman hosted the 14th Annual Jaguar Pride Invitational on Sept. 12.
Middleton said the festival, known as ‘JPI,’ is the fundraising mainstay for his program.
“It’s an incredibly long day of work and a ton of prep goes into it,” he said. “We have more than 80 volunteers for the day. But JPI is our main fundraiser, and it means we don’t have to sell keychains and boxes of popcorn and the like.”
Fox will take a hosting turn of its own with the 13th annual Music on the Meramec festival on Sept. 26.
Seckman will also take part in the Branson Invitational on Oct. 10 and the Central Rebel Invitational in Park Hills on Oct. 17 and will close its competition season with a performance at the Ste. Genevieve Marching Festival on Oct. 24.
Fox competed in the Metro East Marching Classic at O’Fallon Township High in Belleville, Ill., on Sept 12. The Marching Warriors also will take part in the River City Showcase at Fort Zumwalt North on Oct. 11, and the band will close its season with an appearance at the Bands of America Super Regional, held in the Dome at the America’s Center in St. Louis on Oct. 23-24.
Jackson noted that the Fox High School Symphonic Band will take part in a joint performance with the SEMO Wind Symphony at Southeast Missouri State University on Nov. 24.
Growing happily
Both directors say they are happy to see their program numbers growing.
“We should be over 200 next year,” Middleton said. “This is a place for everyone; when kids are looking for something to belong to, there’s a place for them here.
“The year 2030 is looking like the year we go over 300 in the band. I don’t know where we’ll put them, but we’ll worry about it when we get there.”