LHS is well known for its outstanding academics, sports and, of course, band program. From marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade just two years ago to competing annually at regional and national level competitions, the marching band is renowned across the country. However, just as award-winning is the entirety of the band program, which is looking forward to a rather large advancement in the 2026-27 school year.
Dan Sailer, the current instructor of percussion at Augustana University and assistant director of the Viking Marching Band, will be joining Daniel Carlson and Drew Balta as one of LHS’s band directors. Sailer specializes in percussion, making him the perfect fit for a program with an ever-expanding number of percussionists.
“Mr. Carlson and I are both brass players. We’re both very below-average percussionists,” said Balta. “We can help them to a certain level, but beyond that, our brass players are getting far better instruction than our percussion players are. And we wanted to attack that [issue] and fix that for those kids.”
In addition to being a percussion and band director, Sailer is also an LHS band alum and marched with Phantom Regiment, a world-class competitive drum corps, and was even a member when they won a world championship in 2008. Later, he was a staff member for Phantom Regiment. With his world-class percussion experience, Sailer will be able to expand and improve the LHS percussion program, helping the 60-plus percussionists currently in the program to continue growing their musical skills. However, the directors are also taking precautions to ensure students do not burn out.
“Something new we started this year was that every single band period also had a percussion ensemble. And so that will continue next year, and then that’s where the percussion concerts are derived from. So, it’s a lot going on,” said Balta. “The first step [next year] is enhancing what we have… We’re very, very cautious not to burn students out, and we want to make sure we get as close to that line as we can without crossing it. So, in the immediate future, nothing will be expanded… As [Sailer] comes in and evaluates what we have and what we do, we’ll make a calculated decision of what is next.”
However, adding a new band director does not come without any challenges. In the already-crowded fine arts wing, one of the main questions is where Sailer will teach and have his office.
“We’ve had to deal with tight spaces forever here at Lincoln, and this is not a new issue to us, but it is a concern,” said Dr. Laura Raeder, the principal of LHS. “The ensemble room could go back to being used as a space. We also have a very beautiful auditorium that is empty most of the day. And so [the question is] what can we do with that space?”
While there are certainly challenges that come with adding a new teacher, the collective hope is that having a new perspective and an additional, very talented set of hands will bring the LHS band program to new heights.
“Percussion is literally the drumbeat and the heartbeat of the organization,” said Dr. Raeder. “So if we can get some support there, I think that’ll just elevate everything.”
