The Blue Mountain Union School’s marching band is performing in the Groton Fall Foliage parade this year for the first time in four years. The school’s marching band is on the move, “The band is much smaller this year. We have not marched since 2019 and since Covid. We have been trying to re-build our band numbers. Last year the schedule did not make it possible for us to practice together and I only could get about four students to commit, so we did not march. This year we will not have that many more. Some students couldn’t take band due to scheduling, a few students have other commitments… We will be small, but mighty!” says Chelsea Lammare, BMU music and marching band teacher. “Moving forward, we need to look at scheduling again, so every student who wants to be involved can be! Also, the only way to grow our band is to be able to offer more instrumental lessons for students to learn new instruments, especially in high school,” says Lammare. Marching band member and senior Ian Fraser says there’s a big difference between this year and the last time they’ve performed. “The main difference between this year’s marching band compared to the last time we were able to march is the lack of numbers. I can recall when I played the alto sax, there were five others. The numbers have gone down, there are fewer instruments and just about one person per instrument. There are very few of us who have experienced performing in a marching band. We have been struggling to keep in line with each other, and it is something we all are working hard to get better at. I hope that the future grades will find enjoyment in playing an instrument and joining the band,” says Fraser. See the band marching on October 7th in the Groton Fall Foliage parade.