The full experience of autumn in Maine is more than just brightly colored leaves and crisp air. For many, it’s the snap of the pigskin at the season’s first football game or the juice of a red apple, warm off the tree.

For those with a musical inclination and a rhythm in their step, however, that cooler fall air brings a shiver of anticipation for marching band season: The click of a metronome over the rustling leaves and shiny horns catching the glint of the harvest moon.

The small group of musicians who made up the Biddeford High School Marching Band are fortunate that they have not had to give up this fall tradition despite the dissolution of their program after last year’s season.

Budget constraints and a lack of participation led to the decision to eliminate the program, but thanks to the generosity of another school, BHS students will still be able to march on.

In a move that would be rare to see in other competitive activities, the Old Orchard Beach High School Marching Band has welcomed Biddeford musicians with open arms. Their director, Mark Manduca, and the OOB students in the band should be applauded for taking in the seven members of the former 27-member BHS band and welcoming them as “family.”

Five of those BHS students are the drummers who have performed together since middle school ”“ and it would have been a particular shame for them to have no outlet for their talents after coming this far together.

It is bittersweet for BHS students to have to march under OOB’s blue and white instead of their school’s own orange and black, but it’s most certainly better than not marching at all.

Marching band performances, which consist of music and orchestrated movement on a field, combine coordination, musical ability, teamwork and rhythm in an often dazzling display. This unique activity is a haven for those students who find that sports can’t quite fulfill all of their needs.

It is unfortunate that a compromise could not be found to retain the BHS marching band, as few activities hold so much school pride for the community. However, this opportunity to perform with the OOB HS Marching Band will no doubt teach these BHS musicians more about being part of the wider community instead of just their school, and help all of the students in the OOBHS band broaden their horizons.

Already, students have noticed that the Old Orchard Beach program offers a jazzier style of music and a more relaxed system for their marching band. They’re meeting other musicians whom they’ve never met before and learning how to perform under a different director.

In the end, for these few BHS students who are serious enough about their music to have taken the leap into a former competitor’s den, this opportunity offered by OOBHS will be priceless.

Perhaps this collaboration between Biddeford and OOB will become a trend, with regional bands forming instead of school-based bands, giving students a chance to participate in larger groups like the big-name marching bands of Midwestern schools.