How Middle Schoolers are Impacting Westhill’s Marching Band

By Isabela Pinto

Our marching band here at Westhill works from the summer through the fall season as a competitive ensemble that travels in and out of state to perform. With ways to improve always in their sights, the directors and leaders have been “recruiting” promising talent from Stamford’s middle schools. “My predecessor started taking middle school students who needed an extra challenge. That is still what we do today,” Director of Instrumental Music Blair Roberts said. 

The practice of having middle schoolers in the marching band has been continuing for multiple years, as many upperclassmen started their Westhill band experience in 7th or 8th grade. “I had so many people to look up to and I made so many friends before school even started,” James Palmer (‘24) said. The students who join early gain the opportunity to be more prepared for their high school transition. They learn about the building and campus, and might even get a chance to meet some of the teachers. The addition of these younger students has also had a beneficial impact on the size of the band because it helps maintain its number of students through the years.

“Having the honor students we have in the program helps with recruitment and retention because they go back to their middle schools and they say to their friends, ‘Oh I’m doing this thing, it’s so cool, you should do it when you go to high school,’” Roberts said.  It’s less of the band recruiting the middle schoolers and more of the middle schoolers recruiting other students to get them interested in somewhere they could find future success.

 In terms of the noticeable impact on the marching band’s competitive season, while there may not be a significant change in the band’s standings, band members say that from day 1, they put in the extra effort and practice needed to help build up the skills of the middle schoolers. “I think it’s helped us a lot with our culture,” Roberts said.  For the students to have something to strive for and see what their future experience could look like positively impacts the overall culture of the band. They see how they’ve changed, how they can improve, and how their commitment has paid off throughout the season. “We are an extended family –  help each other in school, homework, and with life,” Palmer (24’) said. 

This fall, Westhill’s band traveled a little less than usual but still competed in 5 regular season competitions, always placing within first or second place. They won second place at states with first in percussion and fifth place at nationals with another first place for percussion.  

Zachary Bernstein (‘30) and Lujine Saleh (‘29) are both students at Turn of River Middle School. They were both a part of the marching band during their 2024 season.