Bands face off at Soldier Field

BY TINA SFONDELES  | SunTimes.com September 3, 2011 7:40PM

“They were there to kick off a college football game, but for hundreds of uniform-clad high school students at Soldier Field on Saturday it was all about the battle of the marching bands.

The on-field musical competition precedes the Chicago Football Classic game between Hampton University and Alabama A&M, which is designed to bring awareness to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and encourage kids to head back to school this week.

“These kids all like football, but they all have fun with the band,” said Kimberly Wilkes, auxiliary coordinator at Julian High School. “They love to hear the music.”

For Marshawn McCoy, 15, a saxophonist and sophomore at Julian, it was a treat just to stand on Bears territory: “It’s my first time at a football game and inside Soldier Field, so I’m pretty excited.”

Baritone player Danielle Marion, 17, said the competition reminded her how important her fellow band members are. “It teaches you how to work with others. It teaches you teamwork” said Marion, a senior at Proviso East High School.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was among leaders who attended the festivities, which included a two-hour college fair featuring three city colleges and 20 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

AAMU Trained Community Drum Line Performs for Kids

Church youth group learns discipline, outreach with music

 

Friday, January 18, 2008By KAY CAMPBELL

Times Faith & Values Editor kay.campbell@htimes.com
Source: The Huntsville Times

The beat strikes listeners squarely in the chest as teenagers in the New Life Drum Corps rattle out a cadence during a recent drum line demonstration for children at Showers Recreation Center.

Elementary-aged kids sit on the bleachers in the gymnasium, transfixed as the teenagers twirl their sticks and flutter cymbals, all without interrupting the breathtaking rhythm of their drums.

They use no words, but the youth in the New Life Seventh-day Adventist Pathfinder Club’s Drum Corps have plenty to say: that discipline can be fun, and that you can make the best music by working together. Read more