(Above is a photo of SMABB in 1990 doing Script Riders for the frst time.)

Band has been an important part of the curriculum and a source of school and community pride throughout the history of Memorial High School.  In a community with a rich football tradition such as St. Marys, no band is more visible than the marching band. The St. Marys All-Brass Band has been a part of our community and school history since the 1954-55 school year.  However, no written history of SMABB would be complete without a review of the earliest years of bands at MHS.

Memorial High School had its own high school orchestra (including string instruments) as early as the end of the 1920-21 school year. The first documented band, consisting of 10 members, was led by MHS junior Guy Bricker (who later would serve as director in his adult years) during the 1921 school year.  According to the 1922 Mirror, "…the St. Marys High School Band was organized for the purpose of aiding our athletes in winning their victories, and to help them forget their defeats.  As to the bands success we leave the decision to the High School in general."

A headline in the November, 1926 edition of The Evening Leader stated, "St. Marys High School is to have its own band!"  John Chiesa from Wapakoneta, who also directed the Wapakoneta Band, was chosen to be conductor of this first organized band, consisting of boys only, in St. Marys by a committee of parents, teachers, and Chamber of Commerce members. In those days, it was not uncommon for "bandmasters", as they were called, to be employed by more than one school district in the same position since most schools could not afford their own director, and for directors to use students from one school in the band from another - my, how times have changed! 

One of the first documented public performances by the St. Marys Band was in March of 1927, when they combined with the Wapakoneta Band prior to a basketball game between the two schools held at St. Marys.  The first bands at St. Marys performed primarily for community, school, and athletic contests although it is believed that the band sat and played from the stands, and not actually marched on the football field in the early days.   In 1927, the local American Legion started a fund to provide the band with uniforms with a TOTAL cost of $150!  Today, each uniform costs three or four times that amount!  In 1933 the first booster organization was started, according to an article in The Evening Leader, with a "Band Mothers" Organization being formed to help purchase the more expensive instruments needed in the band.  Throughout the history of the band, the community and parent support of the program has been outstanding!

Many directors followed from the years 1926 until 1952:

• Guy Bricker, 1927-28

• Leonard Wolf(e), 1928-29

• Myron Pearce, 1929-33

• Joseph DuPere, 1934-36;

• Ivan (I.W.) Hall, 1937-39;

• George Hopkins, 1940-41;

• Richard Schilling, 1941-50;

• Lee Van Dervort, 1950-52.

While none other than Richard Schilling (who composed the current MHS Alma Mater) were here for more than a few years, each added their own successes and traditions.  Particularly interesting is that in 1937, I.W. Hall opened up the membership of the band to include girls.  According to the 1938 Mirror, "Girls were admitted to band membership for the first time this year.  Mr. Hall was able to devote all his time to just one band, and the way they have played proves it."  The first female member is credited as Frieda "Sue" Hooper Hoge who was an incredible musician and went on to open her own music studio in St. Marys where she taught piano, trumpet, and accordion.

Art Eresman, a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, came to St. Marys during the 1952 school year. Eresman, also a professional musician who performed with the Dayton Philharmonic for many years, was the first director to utilize the "All-Brass" Band concept.  He still resides in Dayton. 

 Strouse, a 1953 graduate of MHS, and the owner of Stantons Sheet Music in Columbus, Ohio, assisted Eresman in the development of the first "All-Brass" Marching Band while a student at The Ohio State University, where he performed in the OSU Marching Band.   Eresman wanted a fuller sounding marching band, and wanted to switch the woodwind players to brass instruments to achieve this goal. While some players purchased their own brass instruments to use, the majority used instruments purchased jointly by the Board of Education and Band Parents Organization, a partnership that continues to this day.  "We started the switchover classes in the summer so that the woodwind players would be comfortable on their instrument by the time school started. Art always said that good players are good players, regardless of what instrument they played," according to Strouse. During the fall of 1954, the All-Brass Band performed for a Cleveland Browns football game. 

Eresman laid a foundation for a solid instrumental music program at Memorial High School. After he left St. Marys at the end of the 1955-56 school year for a teaching position at Kettering, there came several directors who spent a relatively short period of time in the position. James Williams, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, was director from 1956-61; Russell Willeke, Ohio Northern University and Bowling Green State University, during the 1961-62 school year; and James McDonald, an Ohio State graduate, from 1962 until 65. 

The 1965-66 school year brought about yet another director change.  Frederick C. Loyer, a graduate of Capital University, served as Director of Bands at St. Marys from 1965 until 1986, which currently makes him the longest serving band director in school history.  Under the leadership of Mr. Loyer, the band program at St. Marys flourished and was regarded as one of the finest in West Central Ohio in all areas. 

Loyer led the marching band in a military style. The marching band at St. Marys was known for clean, controlled playing and execution of traditional marching maneuvers.  The St. Marys "All-Brass" Band entered marching band contests in Lexington and Marion Local during the 1970's, consistently placing high in their classification. 

Loyer's brand of musicianship and direction brought many honors to the instrumental music program, particularly for the symphonic band.  His symphonic and concert bands consistently received superior ratings at both district and state level competitions. Band members from St. Marys during the Loyer era (as well as today) were regular members of District, Regional, and State Honors Bands.  A stage band, the predecessor to today's jazz bands, which performed pop, jazz, and rock music, was also formed in the mid 1970's. As then Superintendent Richard Burke said in June of 1986 at the time of Loyer's retirement, "He will be hard to replace on the football field and especially on the stage." 

Loyer brought a sense of continuity to a band program that had seen five directors in the previous fifteen years.  Mr. Loyer passed away in 2018 but his legacy continues on.  

In the fall of 1986, Dane Newlove was hired as Director of Bands for the St. Marys City Schools  after serving three years as Music Director for the Edgerton Local Schools in Northwest Ohio. Newlove, a graduate of Bowling Green State University and Wright State University, had a desire to increase the size of the Marching Band, and consequently the entire high school band program, by including freshmen members.  Generally only sophomore through senior band members participated in the marching band to this point. This change took place in the fall of 1987, bringing the size of the band in line with other WBL schools. Another immediate change was the expanded role of percussion within the marching band, with tonal bass drums and quad toms being utilized. Keyboard mallet instruments and a wide array of accessory percussion instruments are used during percussion features each season.  Newlove retired after 27 years as Director of Bands following the 2012-13 school year, making him the longest tenured Director in school history.  

The band also began to perform at marching band festivals statewide, including two appearances at the Buckeye Band Invitational at The Ohio State University.   They have appeared as the guest band at numerous marching band festivals across Northern and West Central Ohio, and for several years in the 1990's, hosted their own "Roughrider Band Invitational," a band festival featuring marching bands from across Ohio.  

SMABB also began traveling to an out-of-state performance once every four years.  They have represented the community of St. Marys at the St. Marys Conference in St. Marys, Ontario; Kentucky Derby Pegasus Parade; Brach's Holiday Parade in Chicago; Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade; the Azalea Festival Parade in Richmond, Virginia; Smoky Mountain Music Festival in Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Philadephia Thanksgiving Day Parade; and the Citrus Bowl Parade in Orlando, Florida, followed by a performance at Disney World on New Years Eve Day in 2012.  

In the fall of 1990, a new tradition was added - the performance of "Script Riders."   Brian Lynch, a senior field commander in the 1990 band, came up with the idea for Script Riders, based upon the famous "Script Ohio" by the Ohio State University Marching Band, and worked to develop the marching routine with Newlove.  Lynch was given the honor of dotting the "I" during the first performance on October 18, 1990. Since then, the "I" dotter has been voted on by the senior band members. 

One constant in the band program at St. Marys were the contributions of Rebecca Anderson.  A graduate of Memorial, "Mrs. A," as she is affectionately called by her students, also retired following the 2012-13 school year.  

As the number of students participating in band has increased at the high school, an additional part-time staff member was added to assist in the teaching responsibilities of the marching band during rehearsals in the summer, school day, and out of school.  Patricia Clark, Lori Klausing, Sonja Kreml, Sandra Pfeffenberger, Melinda Smith, Nicole Koenig, Emily Klosterman, and Stephanie Kramer have served as assistant directors in this position. 

In the Fall of 2013, after the retirement of Dane Newlove and Becky Anderson, Craig French accepted the role of Director of Bands.  The following year MHS alumnus, Madeline Frankenhauser was hired as the Associate Band Director.  Craig French would maintain the director position from 2013-2019.

The 2019-2020 school year welcomed Riley Robey as our newest Director of Bands.   Mr. Robey is a graduate of Capital University and has brought new energy to the St. Marys Bands.  Under his leadership, the band navigated the restrictions of the pandemic in 2020 and increased in numbers despite the uncertainty of the situation.  In 2022, the Symphonic Band, under the direction of Mr. Robey earned a superior rating at the OMEA State Large Group Adjudicated Event.  

In the Summer of 2023, Mr. Robey accepted a new position at Hamilton Township H.S. and Madeline Frankenhauser stepped into her new role as band director after nine years as the Associate Director of Bands.  She will be the first female Director of Bands in St. Marys Band program history.  The 2023-2024 school year welcomed MHS alumni, Howard T. Spencer as the new Associate Director of Bands.

The marching band, while certainly the most visible, is only a small part of a well-rounded performing arts department at the high school level, consisting of five bands (marching, symphonic, concert, pep and jazz bands); four choirs (Symphonic, Blue Choir,  Gold Choir, and Varsity Voices chamber choir); music theory, History of Pop Music class; an active drama program at the High School and Middle School level; and various small ensembles.  In addition to large ensemble successes, members of the MHS Band distinguish themselves through individual placement into honors bands and orchestras across the state of Ohio, and lead the West Central Ohio region in the number of performances at the annual Solo and Ensemble Contest each year.

The St. Marys Band Parents Organization started the Memorial High School Band Hall of Fame in 1997 in order to honor those graduates who have performed in a college, community, or military band or orchestra after graduation.  The concept that "Music is for a Lifetime" is important to the educational philosophy of the program. Currently, over 150 alumni are members of the Hall of Fame.

The SMABB Alumni Band and St. Marys Area Community Band were both founded by Dane Newlove in 2013 and have become a concrete representation of "Music is for a Lifetime" involving hundreds of community members and former band members in instrumental music.  

Hard-working students, dedicated directors, involved and active parents, and a supportive administration and community, all combine to make it possible for the Memorial High School Band Program to continue to offer an outstanding array of musical opportunities in all areas.