Escambia County High School’s marching band held its yearly summer band camp last week at the school and Hayley Canterberry, the new band director at ECHS, was impressed at how quickly her students picked up on the new pieces and formations. After a slow start

Canterberry said she was proud that the band is growing quickly, and more students are becoming interested daily.

“We started off with a bare number,” Canterberry said. “We’ve grown quite a bit. I had about five students show up the first couple of practices. Now we have about twenty winds and five percussion.”

Canterberry, who began as ECHS’s band director only weeks ago, credits the interest of new students to come and join the band to her students.

“The kids,” Canterberry said, “ (They) are my biggest help when it comes to recruiting.”

Battling a combination of heat and stormy weather during the weeklong band camp, the band members have accomplished a number of tasks.

“The band knows all the material for the halftime show,” Canterberry said. “We’ve learned how to march formation to formation, and they’ve been running through the show from beginning to end.”

One of the highlights of the week, for the students and Canterberry, was when Dr. Zickeyous Byrd, principal of ECHS, came in for a surprise visit to listen to the band’s tunes.

“Dr. Byrd has been so great,” Canterberry said. “He is always offering support to the kids.”

With just 27 days before the home opener and the band’s first halftime performance, Canterberry knows time to prepare is short; however, she is confident in the students and their talents.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, but the growth is definitely there,” Canterberry said. “I’ve watched them go from babies to ready band members.”