The S&S High School Marching Band is about to see some major growth, thanks to an extremely large incoming freshman class.
S&S Director of Bands Dustin Hensley said that the 25-30 member marching band will increase to 60 members this fall.
Part of the attraction is the S&S band program’s continual drive for excellence.
The school year may be finished but the work doesn’t stop for Hensley.
While most teachers are beginning to enjoy their summer break, Hensley (who will begin his third year of teaching at S&S in August) is focusing on plans for the band’s upcoming halftime show this fall.
An outside-the-box thinker, Hensley has chosen a package called “Arabian Nights,” arranged by Luke McMillan. The package will showcase the beauty and depth of a culture steeped in history, and songs will include “Scheherazade” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, “Arabian Nights” from Aladdin, and “When You Believe” and “Deliver Us” from Prince of Egypt.
“The shows are purchased on a first come, first served basis,” Hensley said. “I was up until midnight on Nov. 5 to send the email to McMillan letting him know I wanted exclusivity for our area.”
Hensley was granted the purchase and thus ensured that no other schools in Western Grayson County will be performing the same show.
“I unveiled the package to the band members back in November,” Hensley said. “I wanted to get the music into their hands as soon as possible. They’ve already gotten the first part down. We played the opener at our May 8 band concert as a sort of teaser for parents. Everyone’s really going to love this show.”
Students are so excited that they’re already telling Hensley they’re willing to put in the work to ensure they get to play more challenging parts.
The new show will include five field frames (each 10 feet by 10 feet) that spread from 30 yard line to 30 yard line.
“The whole field is going to look like the Taj Mahal,” Hensley said.
Uniforms will also be something completely different for S&S next year. While the band has typically maintained traditional marching uniforms, next year’s group will have new, digitally-printed tops in purple and gold with hieroglyphics to tie into the show’s theme.
“When it comes to marching band, there are pockets in north Texas that are uber competitive,” Hensley said. “We are in one of those pockets. In order to compete with other schools in our area, we have to bring things up to the next level.”
Hensley is working with Clayton Harris from Marching 365 to coordinate and design the marching show.
“He takes a lot of bands to State,” Hensley said. “Our real goal is to make it to area this year, and then hopefully State.”
Summer band camp is scheduled to begin July 21 with percussion, color guard and leadership. The full band will begin rehearsing together on July 28.
Senior drum majors will be Mia Betancourth and Zavier Talamantes and assistant drum major will be Cheyenna Williams. The trio will attend leadership training at University of Texas at Arlington June 15-19.
The marching band will also have a crew of 7th and 8th graders who will play in the stands during halftime shows and help on the field with set-up.
“They love being able to participate and it gets early buy-in, which helps strengthen the overall band program,” Hensley said. “We’re really coming up as a program.”
Ratings at contests keep improving and the groups keep progressively advancing, both in skill and success. And it’s not just at the high school level.
The middle school band scored Superior ratings at the Arbuckle Wilderness contest this past school year.
“We’ve really grown as a family here,” Hensley said. “We’re building a good culture. We’re seeing incremental growth and we continually promote positivity – we’re all here to improve and be the best we can be.”
The band program is adding a new staff member this year. Brooke Grabowski will join the teaching staff as the new Assistant Band Director. A graduate of Stephen F. Austin, Grabowski was a flute major and involved in the color guard, as well as a member of the National Guard.
“I’m a brass guy, she’s a woodwind and color guard expert,” Hensley said. “I think we’ll really complement each other in what we can bring to our team. She’ll be a great addition and she’s really excited to get started.”