Every morning, other than Tuesdays, the Pride of the East wakes up to go to rehearsal. But on June 14, 2016, they got an email that they would have different directors next year.

“I was at Six Flags and we all thought he was joking,” Mary Harkins, French horn soloist said.

The marchers loved Mr. Glenn Lambert and Mr. Aaron Daniels, but there are new memories to come and shows to learn.

The new band directors, Luis Alberto Saldaña, director of bands, and Jason Duck, associate director of bands, think the Pride has unlimited potential. Their main goal is to improve every day.

“I wouldn’t say there’s one specific weakness. I think there are similarities in students everywhere I’ve taught and our goal is to improve in everything whether it’s practice behavior or in class behavior [or in a performance.],” Mr. Duck said.

The directors may be new to the school, but they’re not new to music or marching. Mr. Duck went to Texas Tech for a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music education, while Mr. Saldaña went to the University of North Texas for a bachelor’s in music education.

“[Music] has been a very big part of my life. I wanted to either perform or teach,” Mr. Saldaña said.

According to Mr. Duck, the year has been busy but rewarding. They want to add lots of choreography to the show titled “Train of Thought” that Mr. Lambert and Mr. Daniels chose prior to their decision to leave.

“[Mr. Lambert] has been an acquaintance for quite some time and I’ve heard a lot about what he’d done about the program here. And when he had announced that he had taken the director of fine arts position, the vacancy was open, some professional colleagues told me to take a look at this,” Mr. Saldaña said.

The students have done their best to show them all the traditions that come with being a marcher in the band.

“Although it was an unexpected transition, we still seem to have done well. I think this is going to be a great year and I can’t wait for what Mr. Duck and Mr. Saldaña have in store for concert season,” Adam Orr, sophomore tuba in wind ensemble, said.

With the directors’ pasts and students’ passion, the Pride of the East is on its way to victory as the show goes on.

“I want to try to set systems in place for how the group performs. Building relationships is my ultimate personal goal. It’s something that takes time and so far we haven’t had a lot of time,” Mr. Saldaña said.

Come see the band perform “Train of Thought” at Friday night football halftime shows.