When the Sam Houston High School marching band takes the field later this month, its members will bring with them a year of hard-won experience along with a sense of accomplishment and triumph. Bruce Adams, the storied show band’s director for the past 15 years, typically worked with 40- to 50-member bands year after year. But at the start of the 2021-22 school year, the East Side band’s roster listed four students, with only one returning senior. Adams blamed the coronavirus pandemic for decimating his band. And unlike wealthier schools that have a strong pipeline that feeds students into high school band programs from middle school ensembles, Adams had a group of true novices to teach. “We hadn’t learned to march, most of the kids that came in had never even played an instrument,” said Adams, a 1988 alumnus of Sam Houston. “It was probably one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever had in my life.” “Students will come in from other schools and not know how to play … other schools ca...