When the Brandywine High School marching band takes the field for the first time this year, it will do so with 50 members and a newly formed color guard.

The band’s director said the program has come a long way in a few short years.

“When I came in we were scared that the program would not survive and that added a lot of pressure,” said Ruth Livengood. “Now we aren’t just surviving anymore — we are thriving. It is such a neat thing. The pressure is gone.”

Brandywine has not had a color guard since it disbanded in 2008 due to low participation.

Color guard and marching band go hand-in-hand, Livengood said, but a school can’t have a color guard without a healthy band program.

Livengood became Brandywine’s band director in 2012 when the marching band had only a dozen members. The band didn’t really march at that time, she said, it just stood on the track and played music during football games.

Numbers steadily increased in the years that followed, from 25 in 2013 to 35 in 2014 and 50 this year.

Color guard was added over the summer under the direction of Susan Roth, a Berrien RESA employee who also runs color guard for Berrien Springs.

“I think it shows that we’ve arrived,” Livengood said. “We are like the other schools that have color guards now. We aren’t at a disadvantage anymore.

“It (color guard) adds a visual element that brings excitement to the performance and it gives kids a more well rounded marching band experience.”

Brandywine’s color guard has eight members, including captain Taylor Kangas.

The Brandywine junior said she is looking forward to their first performance at the football team’s first home game Sept. 3.

“I am very excited because we can show what we’ve been working for the past several weeks,” Kangas said. “We want to show people that we are expanding and growing and getting better.”

Livengood attributes the growth of the band program to several things, including support by school administration and a strong focus on giving kids a positive experience.

“People are proud of the band and proud to be in it,” she said.

Livengood expects the band to grow even more in the coming years because the majority of its members (70 to 75 percent) are freshmen who have been playing for several years.

Brandywine’s marching band can be seen at all home football games and at the district marching band festival in Niles in October.

This year’s theme is “believe” and is centered on songs that talk about the importance of believing and what belief can do for a person.

The band will perform the songs:

• “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Disney’s “Cinderella”

• “Lake of Make Believe” by Chuck Magione

• “Pure Imagination” from “Willy Wonka And the Chocolate Factory”

• “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey