Blanchard Memorial School has a strong history of supporting an instrumental music program for students in grades four through six. This instrumental music program gives our students a special introduction to music in a wonderful, supportive atmosphere and provides a good foundation and appreciation for music as they grow. It is among the leading elementary programs in Massachusetts, with 2 concert bands, a stage band and 3 ensembles. All students receive lessons from an accomplished faculty, and have the support of a strong parent organization. The Blanchard Band Parent Organization (BBPO) administers the Charles Garabedian scholarship to help those who cannot afford lessons. The concert bands use standard band instrumentation, brass, woodwinds and percussion. Advanced Band rehearses once a week before school and the Stage and Beginning Bands rehearse in the afternoon after school.

Bands

Beginning Band: This group consists of students who have not played an instrument in a group setting before. Most of these students select and receive their first lessons on the instrument at the start of the school year. The music is initially in unison, where everyone plays the same notes and rhythms, progressing later to more complex music. The Beginning Band performs a winter concert of their own, featuring short pieces by each section in addition to selections from the full band. This band later joins the Advanced Band for the spring concert and marches in Boxborough's Memorial Day and Fifer's Day parades.

Advanced Band: This group consists of students who have played at least 1 year in a band. The Advanced Band plays arrangements of traditional concert band repertoire along with newer arrangements written for young bands. It performs 2 concerts during the year, a winter concert and a spring concert held at the school, and marches in the 2 Boxborough parades, Memorial Day and Fifer's Day. In the past this group has performed at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) Concert Festival earning silver medals in 2002 and 2007 and gold medals in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Their gold medal performances earned the Advanced Band an invitation to perform at Mechanics Hall in Worcester for the MICCA Gold Medal Showcase Concert in 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019, and at Symphony Hall in Boston in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2016.

Stage Band: For those advanced students who commit to an additional rehearsal, Stage Band provides them the opportunity to play big band, jazz, rock and roll and Latin music. This music involves more complex rhythms and exposure to different performance styles. Students are also taught improvisation skills and have the opportunity to perform solos in much of the music. The instrumentation is similar to the concert bands, except that the drummers take turns playing on a drum set and advanced keyboard players are also part of this group. Students performing in Stage Band must also perform in Advanced Band. This group performs at the winter and spring concerts with the Advanced Band and has also performed concerts outside of school.

Ensembles

Ensembles: Blanchard is fortunate to have 3 ensembles, Percussion, Brass, and a Woodwind ensemble. There is an additional fee for performing in the ensembles, and ensemble rehearsals may occur before or after school, depending on the group.

Percussion Ensemble: The Percussion Ensemble is open to any Advanced Band percussionist. The ensemble performs at the winter and spring concerts. Students get the opportunity to play a wider range of percussion instruments than in concert band. Where many of the concert band pieces have the percussion playing in unison, the ensemble often requires that the players perform unique, individual parts. Emphasis is placed on improving listening skills and on developing technique on the various instruments.

Brass Ensemble: The Brass Ensemble also known as Chris and the Brass is generally open to any advanced band brass student who has been playing for at least one year. The group gives the students an opportunity to express themselves musically in a smaller ensemble. A wide range of repertoire is covered from Renaissance dances of the 1500's to popular songs of today. Additionally a jazz selection is often included to give the young musicians a chance to experiment with improvisation. In addition to performing at the band concerts in the winter and spring, the ensemble usually plays at the senior citizen's luncheon in November and the town's tree lighting in December. They also performed for the 5th anniversary of the Sargent Memorial Library in Boxborough. In 2006 the group also played the national anthem at a Providence Bruins game and in 2007 at a Worcester Ice Sharks game. Annually from 2006-2014, they performed an outdoor concert in Hudson, MA alongside the Brass Connection, a professional brass ensemble. In the past the group has performed at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) Solo and Ensemble Festival earning a silver medal in 2017 and gold medals in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. In the spring of 2004 they were invited to perform at the MICCA Honors Concert at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, MA as well as in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018 at the Follen Church in Lexington, MA.

Woodwind Ensemble: The woodwind ensemble is generally open to any advanced band woodwind student who has been playing for at least a year. As in all the bands and ensembles, the students are encouraged to listen to one another and blend as one voice. Whereas in the band there may be many people playing the same part, the ensembles may have just one or two on a part building even more self-confidence for the players. The group performs at the band concerts in the winter and spring as well as at the Boxborough senior's luncheon in November and at a community fundraiser in the spring. They also performed at the 5th anniversary of the Sargent Memorial Library in Boxborough. The woodwind ensemble has performed at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) Solo and Ensemble Festival. They earned silver medals in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019, and earned gold medals in 2007, 2017, and 2018. The woodwind ensemble was invited to perform at the MICCA Honors Concert in 2017.

The Blanchard String Program: The string program made its debut in the 2017-2018 school year. It is offered to aspiring string players in fourth through sixth grade. The district wide string program started in the 2016-2017 school year in the 7-12th grade