NASHUA – In the summer of 2019, Paul LaFlamme Jr. took the Covid-19 quarantine to catch up on household chores, yard work, and other popular pastimes he typically struggled to find time for.

“I never thought I’d be someone who’d retire,” LaFlamme said. “Then I found out I was pretty good at it.”

Then came the summer of 2020, and LaFamme soured on such a leisurely experience.

“It got pretty boring,” he said.

So it went for the president of the Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps. And LaFlamme realized that it was even tougher for his marching band’s members, especially those 60 members who saw their final two summers of playing fade away.

“That was the toughest part, definitely,” LaFlamme said.

With luck, the Spartans won’t have to endure another silent summer.

Audition camps for the 2022 season are scheduled for Nov. 20-21 at the Boys & Girls Club of Nashua and the Elm St. Middle School, and Dec. 18-19 at a site to be determined.

Current or new members in brass or percussion should attend the full weekend camp. color guard auditions and practices will be held only on the Sunday during camp weekends.

Experience playing an instrument or as a member of a school color guard is not required. The fee for the weekend, which includes meals (Saturday – lunch and dinner; Sunday – breakfast and lunch), is $50 per person.

More information on the camps is available at www.spartansdbc.org.

As of Wednesday 110 musicians, aged 14-21, had signed up, a bit fewer than in past auditions. But LaFlamme is confident that will change. He visited Quincy (Mass.) High School recently, saw 127 participants on the field, and had many approach him about the Spartans.

“There is absolutely a hunger for more marching bands,” he said.

The schedule for 2022 has not been released, but it will include a performance at Stellos Stadium on July 29.

The commitment required from the members guarantees there will be few, if any, who don’t take it seriously. In June and July the Spartans will be performing every weekend, with daily practices.

The reward is the experience competing with a marching band that won Drum Corps International World Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the Spartans’ sixth world title. In all, the Spartans had 235 members that year.

“The competition isn’t everything,” LaFlamme said, “but it’s a big part of who we are.”

Should Covid-19 restrictions tighten, LaFlamme is confident that the Spartans will be able to adapt on the fly.

“We know the challenges we could face,” he said. “Everybody was anxious to give it a shot.”