ECSU Drummers Entertain During Annual PCC Fall Fest
October 30, 2008
Pitt Community College students took a break from the classroom this week to enjoy crisp, fall weather and the raucous beat of the Elizabeth City State University drumline.
An impressive student turnout took part in Wednesday’s Fall Fest activities, which are organized each year by the college’s Student Government Association. In addition to the 15-member drumline, this year’s Fall Fest featured a variety of games, student club fundraisers, music by Kevin Howard (Top Dawg), and Parker’s Barbecue.
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Grambling State Honoree, Willie Hill Retuns the favor
October 30, 2008
By Phyllis Lehrer
Amherst Bulletin
When Willie Hill was inducted into the Grambling State University Alumni Hall of Fame two weeks ago, he was cited for his achievements in teaching, administration, performance and service.
In turn, Hill, director of the University of Massachusetts Fine Arts Center credits his alma mater for his accomplishment.
Sitting in his office in the Curry Hicks building, Hill - named for his father, Willie Lee Hill Sr. - said the school, located in Louisiana, provided him with the basis, foundation and skills for all he done.
He tells this story.
Ulysses Miller, his high school band director at Mobile, Ala., said he had to go to college.
“That was not on my radar screen. No one in my family went to college. My vision, I would go into the foundry like my father and be a laborer.”
When he approached his parents about going to school, they said there was no money for him to do so.
“Miller put me in a car, drove me to Grambling, told the band director, Conrad Hutchison, I was a talented student. Hutchison said if I did well academically, in leadership and performance he would see what he could do.”
B.T. Washington Aristocrat Band Scores Superior Ratings at The Central Alabama Band Competition
October 30, 2008
With the marching halftime show season near the end, the Booker T. Washington Marching Aristocrat Band has participated in two competitions and has earned superior ratings in both events.
The Aristocrats scored five superior ratings (the highest rating possible) on Saturday, October 18 in the Central Alabama Band Competition held in Selma earning the “Best in Class” for Division AA ranking.
There were at least 16 high school bands participating in the competition and the Marching Hornets of Alabama State University were the guest college band this year.
The Aristocrats strutted their stuff in front of a jam-packed stadium with bands and fans from all over central Alabama from such areas as Anniston, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, and Birmingham.
Led by Drum Major Xavier Lewis, the Eagle Band took the field promptly at 4:15 p.m. and the journey to a superior rating began. Their performance left the judges and audience dazzled that a group from Macon County could have so much talent.
Local New Orleans Artist Hosts Tribute Event to New Orleans Band Community, October 31
October 28, 2008
Local New Orleans Artist and Bandhead Bruce Davenport is hosting a Tribute Event to the New Orleans Band Community featuring drawings of New Orleans and College Bands.
Davenport’s work features drawings of Nearly All New Orleans High School, Junior High School and Middle School Bands.
The event will be held October 31 at 7pm in the universal furniture building at st claude and st rock
For more information contact:
Barrister’s Gallery - http://barristersgallery.com or
http://www.bandhead.org/events/event/show?id=666673:Event:56930
Come out and Support The New Orleans Band Community
Marching bands dazzle crowd at Michigan high school competition.
October 27, 2008
Seventh annual band competition winners:
• First place: Martin Luther King High School in Detroit
• Second place: Muskegon High School
• Third place: Southwestern Academy in Flint
FLINT, Michigan — The two sisters huddled under blankets in the bleachers at Atwood Stadium on Saturday, ready to train their binoculars on the next marching band.
“I’ve been coming for years,” said Flint resident Birdie Brooks of the annual Northern High School Band Competition.
“I just like the band performances.”
Her sister, Carrie Dantzler, has been listening to a preview from her home in Flint.
“Northern is in my backyard, so I hear them practice all the time,” she said.
But watching them is half the fun. Eight participating bands, drum majors, majorettes and color guards showed a lot of flash and high-energy showmanship as they stepped high and danced for a crowd of several hundred people.
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Southern High Hosts 2008 Bull City Battle of the Bands
October 27, 2008
By LAURA COLLINS : The Herald-Sun
DURHAM — The sound of beating drums filled the air around Southern High School Sunday night as the school hosted the first-ever Bull City Battle of the Bands.
Marching bands from across the state, as well as from Washington, D.C., Georgia and Virginia, competed.
The Hillside High School Marching Band brought home top honors by winning first place overall, or Grand Champion. They also won first place in marching and maneuvering, drum major, music and percussion section. The band placed second in dancers/majorette and flag.
The school’s 11-year band director, Xavier Cason, said the win was exciting.
“It feels wonderful. The students have worked really hard and they’ve been improving week by week,” he said. “This year’s group has been very, very teachable, and it shows.”
In the smaller categories, Cason said the percussion recognition was most significant.
Lane College Band Members to Watch Homecoming from Stands
October 25, 2008
By TAJUANA CHESHIER
Source: The Jackson Sun
Lane College band captain Brandon Tyler on Friday said the band will not march in today’s homecoming parade and will sit in the stands instead of perform during the homecoming football game half-time show.
Tyler said the administration decided to bench the group because of a loss of band members and the band’s “peaceful protest” for band scholarships.
Thousands view Magic City Classic parade
October 25, 2008
Thousands of spectators lined the streets of downtown Birmingham on Saturday morning to watch high school marching bands from all over Alabama and as far away as Memphis, Cleveland and Evansville, Ind., during the the Magic City Classic parade.
“I just enjoy a parade — so much life and excitement,” said Melvin Armstrong, 82, who stood along the parade route wearing a Barack Obama for President T-shirt.
Cars, trucks and floats cruised past the crowds while dance teams high-stepped their way through the Civil Rights District. The parade celebrates the rivalry between the state’s two largest historically black universities before the annual Saturday afternoon football clash between Alabama State and Alabama A&M at Legion Field. At the stadium, crowds transformed the surrounding grounds into a weekend campground with endless, family-sized barbecue buffets and lots of music in the air.
The 55-member Shaw High School band of East Cleveland, Ohio, left home at midnight to participate in the parade and attend the game.
“Students from our band are in both the Alabama State and A&M bands so we enjoy attending this event,” said band director Donshon Wilson, director of the Shaw High band, which earlier this summer traveled to China to particpate in the pre-Olympic festivities.
–Greg Garrison
Terrence Howard Leads The Showtime Marching Band at Homecoming
October 19, 2008
Academy Award-nominated actor Terrence Howard dresses up in marching band gear and serves as Howard University’s homecoming ambassador and grand marshal at the school’s homecoming football game in Washington, D.C., on Sunday.
“I am very excited about participating in Howard University’s legendary Homecoming,” said Terrence. “I am looking forward to celebrating with the students and the distinguished alumni of this great American treasure.”
Homecoming activities at Virginia State University
October 16, 2008
Virginia State University’s 2008 Homecoming activities begin Saturday, Oct. 18 and will continue through Oct. 25 as alumni, students, family and friends commemorate the Trojan experience.
Loida N. Lewis, and Carolyn E. Fugett, wife and mother, respectively, of the late VSU alum Reginald F. Lewis, one of the nation’s most successful lawyers and entrepreneurs, will serve as parade marshals during the Homecoming Parade on Oct. 25. Lewis, a 1965 graduate, was once listed by Forbes magazine as one of the country’s wealthiest business leaders. Parade marshals will promenade from downtown Petersburg to the campus with university and community groups, and the Trojan Explosion Marching Band.
