The band members of Salem Marching Blue have been doing an incredible job in what band director Gannon Craig describes as its “strongest season since COVID.” On Saturday, Nov. 2, 10 band members participated in the All-District Honor Band—making those members eligible to audition for the Missouri All-State Band in December. Not only that, but Salem Marching Blue made finals this year with fourth in class at Reed Springs, a longtime goal for both students and Craig.
This is Craig’s third year directing Salem Marching Blue. This year, there are 45 wind and percussion players and 10 color guard members. During marching band season, students arrive throughout the week early in the morning at 7:30 a.m. for rehearsals. Students also do Thursday evening rehearsals from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Salem Marching Blue does three competitions and performs at every home football game through halftime. It also does a pre-season community performance to show what the students learned during marching band camp, and a post-season community performance to show the students’ growth over the entire season. Occasionally, the students also do community performances, like at the Art in the Parking Lot event put on by Salem Area Arts Council on Sept. 28.
The students go through rigorous training throughout the season, but Craig emphasized that students are dedicated and know their hard work pays off. Craig shared that he and his assistant are continuously taken aback by students’ great attitudes during rehearsals. The students are constantly looking for areas they can improve and take feedback in stride.
For example, the students are judged during each competition they participate in and, in the ever-growing world of technology, each judge has a voice recorder that they record comments on for the students to review. The students are excited to hear the judges’ comments, clamoring to hear what they’ve said about their performances. They have a healthy relationship with feedback and know that judges are there to both score and provide methods of improvement.
“We’ve got great, hard workers,” shared Craig. “It’s rigorous, but they rise to that challenge every single day. And we can’t be prouder of them.”
The guiding philosophy for Craig for helping students maintain a positive mindset, regardless of their competition placement, is "Where do we go from here?" Following a poor performance, students are encouraged to focus on what needs improvement and receive constructive, positive feedback to stay motivated. They’re reminded that mistakes are a natural part of life and keep going with their performance despite mistakes. Not every day is going to be a huge success, but there’s always the next performance to improve upon.
The students show a healthy awareness of the growth mindset, a belief that abilities can be developed through effort and practice. This healthy relationship to feedback and perseverance, among many other factors, may have been what led 12 students, out of 16 that auditioned, making it to All-District.
“This is my hometown—I remember when I was in school, we maybe had two people audition and one would possibly make it [to All-District],” said Craig. “So, there’s a lot of growth there.”
Not only are the band members doing exceedingly well at competitions, but they’ve been given a confidence boost with some brand-new uniforms just as sharp as their sound. Their previous uniforms were on their last leg—coming up on 16 years of what was supposed to be a ten-year lifespan. Their new uniforms are clean, sharp, and well-designed, and the kids feel confident wearing them during performances.
The uniforms were completely community funded, showing dedication by the community to showing up for both the band program and its students. The new uniforms weren’t the only way the community has shown up, however—over the course of marching band season, Salem Marching Blue receives the assistance of a band parents’ organization. Any parent with a student in either middle school or high school band can be involved. Those parents continuously assist in hauling trailers, putting together props for performances, pulling equipment, and more. Craig shared that the parents are constantly stepping up and taking the weight off directors’ shoulders, making it easier to focus on teaching.
“They’re so vital to what we do,” shared Craig, on the band parents’ organization. “We couldn’t do it without them.”
On top of all that, Salem Marching Blue launched a fundraiser on Thursday, Nov. 7 for folks to give directly to the program. Funds will aid in purchasing equipment, uniforms, and other pertinent expenses for the program. Give directly to the program at https://verticalraise.com/fundraiser/salem-band-fundraiser. On the morning of Friday, Nov. 8, the fundraiser had already raised over $1,500 in donations, shared Craig, so it’s already been a huge success. The goal for the fundraiser is $10,000.
Watching the students grow, learn, and succeed during competitions is highly rewarding, says Craig. By the end of the season, Craig shared that students show different kinds of growth, differing by grade. The growth is more obvious in freshman, who go from out-of-sync beginners to coordinated marchers by the end of band camp, while more subtle in sophomores and juniors who improve their tone, breathing, and marching precision; meanwhile, seniors improve in challenging themselves by stepping into leadership roles. Each grade level progresses at its own pace, contributing to the collective growth of the band.
Beyond musicianship and marching skills, the band fosters a strong sense of family. Students build supportive relationships with each other, which help them bounce back from setbacks, like a rough performance. They know that their peers are there to support them through both the bad times and the good times.
Craig shared that throughout his career as a band director he’s learned that kids are incredibly resilient. While many adults frame the world as “post-COVID”, kids don’t view it that way. It’s just how life is to them.
“It’s just another day for them to make a goal, make an improvement,” said Craig. “It’s just a reminder that life keeps on going.”
