THE MHS BAND

Malden High School welcomes a new band director in Lauren Foley. She is also an instrumental teacher preparing for the upcoming winter recital in 2022.

Foley, hired after Ms. Mazza moved out of state, is skilled in teaching instruments, especially the fute. After graduation from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Foley came across the ofer of becoming a band director at Malden High school for her frst teaching job.

The instruments and activities taught by Foley and the previous teacher Ms. Mazza are the same. “I think we’re doing pretty similar things…. We do a lot of marching band stuf to start of the year, and then we dive into more concert music,” Foley said.

Dagny Boswell wants to play her best during the concert to show the hard work and the practice she does everyday. “During a concert, we really are going to be performing some of our best work, because that’s our time to showcase what we are. During pre-concert recitals, everyone should be really [focused],” said Boswell.

Foley is adapting to the new environment and the students’ schedule in band. “This year I’m trying to just fgure out the routines of everything they do so that I can keep things going,” Foley explained. She wants to keep everything in a steady paste and know more of the program. She hopes the marching band can play at the football games [during halftime] as it is one of her goals for next year.

“There’s a diference between everyone’s teaching style and it always depends on the teacher and how they make sure the class is learning, but a lot of the stuf has stayed the same, especially because it’s a lot of the same instruments,” Lyra Gold stated.

“Mazza was a huge part of the High School community in general… She was like a pillar to a lot of us. She was a band teacher that I’ve known since I was in 6th grade so it was difcult to lose her, especially my senior year,” Gold explained. Mazza’s leave impacted a lot of students and the years they spent together. Foley fnds the new environment such as the events and the students’ schedule in the band challenging but she is adapting quickly.

Students in the band are comfortable around her, “I think she’s really organized, she kind of has everything on her radar which is really helpful and she’s like very patient with us which is also really good to see,” Gold said. She continued, “She’s doing really great. This is very early in her career, she just got out of college, but she’s doing an awesome job and I’m impressed with the band. We’re all behind her and trying to do our best to help her do what she wants to do.”

Gold concluded with plans to “just to fnish of strong and have a lot of fun and see the band program through.”