After former band director Randall Fillmore announced his retirement last year, Eric Bradshaw was hired to take over the program. Since starting Free State, he has added newer music and marching patterns to lead the band to success.
Over the next couple of years, Bradshaw wants to keep the engagement that he’s currently seeing and get more people involved.
“I want [to continue] where we are right now, and to keep moving forward. Not getting the point where we’re just like, still just kind of doing it. I want to keep getting better,” Bradshaw said. “I really want the students to enjoy band, that’s important to me.”
Bradshaw’s changes haven’t gone unnoticed. For senior Jasper Merritt, they’ve found that the support and encouragement he provides has been beneficial.
“I really like how encouraging he is, he’s super fun. He’s always trying to make us our best self and always pushes us to be the best kind of marchers and people that we can be,” Merritt said.
However, many students were concerned about what the band would look like after Fillmore worked at Free State for 17 years. Coming from Ottawa University, Bradshaw had a lot of ideas for the program. Since he’s started, the band has become more engaged since Bradshaw took over.
“Mr. Bradshaw is way more organized and focuses more on the students and what he can do to help… We show up on time. We get stuff done that we need to get done. And we also have fun while doing it,” junior Drum Major Gage Monse said.
On Oct. 4, the Marching Band competed at the Emporia Marching Festival. This was new for everyone in the band, since the last time they had gone to a competition was before COVID. The band received a one ranking, along with placing second in their division and third overall out of 18 teams.
“It was so fulfilling. It was our first one [in] a while and we placed,” Monse said. “It just shows our improvement and how much we can improve in a matter of two months.”
From an administrator’s perspective, Assistant Band Director Melissa Smith appreciates the work that Bradshaw has put into the band.
“Bands begin in the summer and work diligently on marching, playing, and movement, it all comes together in that 12 minute performance,” Smith said.
Looking ahead, Bradshaw is working on setting goals to continue growth and improvement for the program.
“There’s a lot of things happening at the middle school right now… but hopefully our retention rate is good,” Bradshaw said. “I want to see the excitement continue like it is right now. That’s really important to not only growth in numbers, but growth in abilities. When people want to do something, it’s often better. I want it to be an enjoyable experience that they can take with them beyond high school.”
