In recent years, the Fountain Hills High School marching band has proven itself to be one of the best high school programs in the state, and a large reason for that are the Falcons who fully committed themselves to the program, many of whom go on to continue their marching career even after leaving Fountain Hills.

Two examples of these unwavering Falcons are Laura Anderson and Bruce Ferguson, who both graduated from Fountain Hills High School and now have moved on to major success in the marching programs at Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, respectively.

Anderson, who is part of the class of 2018, will be entering her sophomore year at ASU this fall where she will be one of three drum majors, the student leaders of the band.

“A Drum Major is one of the people who stand in front and conduct the band,” Anderson explained. “We have one here in Fountain Hills but, since it is a larger band at ASU, we need three. We will help out with sectionals during the season and practices, but all three of us will be up front directing the whole band.”

Along with conducting the band the drum major also needs to be aware of what is happening during the game as Ferguson, a 2017 FHHS graduate who will be one of two drum majors at NAU next year, puts it.

“At NAU there’s a few roles that the drum major has; obviously one is to conduct during halftime,” Ferguson said. “Another one is during practice, to teach drills (where everyone is marching) and the marching technique. At games, it is also the major’s job to pay attention to what is happening on the field and call out certain songs for different parts of the game.”

During her freshman year as a Sun Devil, Anderson played piccolo in the band and helped out behind the scenes as much as she could before deciding to audition to be a drum major.

“For the audition process we had to play two pieces; one technical, one lyrical,” Anderson said. “We had to conduct a song in front of a panel and then we had an interview process.”

Ferguson has been playing the flute in the Lumberjack Band since his freshmen year at college and served as the flute section leader during his sophomore year. It was that experience that encouraged him to audition for the role of drum major.

“The first stage was a one-on-one interview with our band director where we talked and shared ideas,” Ferguson said. “Then the next stage was an audition in front of our pep band. The candidates who made it through the interview did a conducting audition, a teaching audition and then a Q&A/speech.”

During her interview Anderson talked about what she learned from her experiences in the FHHS marching band and how she could translate them to the ASU band.

“One of the biggest things we advocate for in the FHHS band is CANI, Constant And Never-ending Improvement,” Anderson said. “That is one of the high school mottos that I have brought over not only to college band, but life in general. I view it as there is always room for improvement and you just have to find out where.”

Anderson learned at FHHS that leadership isn’t a position but a service to others, and for Anderson to translate that to life outside of band is exactly what band teacher Lynn Truby wants.

“Leadership is what we do here in FHHS,” Truby said. “My program is based on empowering students to take the reins of not only their musical endeavors, but also their life. Communicate, respect others, serve others, show up early, give your best. These are life skills!”

Truby said she remembers both Anderson and Ferguson as great leaders during their time at Fountain Hills High School.

“They were both phenomenal leaders while in the FHHS band,” Truby said. “Bruce was one of the best band managers we ever had and Laura worked her leadership magic as the band librarian her first year and then moved to flute section leader. They were role model students for sure.”

In the history of FHHS, only one other band member has gone on to be a drum major at the collegiate level.