Morehead State University’s Blue and Gold Marching Band Championship will be held on the MSU campus Saturday, Sept. 24. A total of 12 high school bands from Indiana and Kentucky will participate in the event at Jayne Stadium.
Nationally recognized authorities in the field of marching band will evaluate the bands. These adjudicators include: Mark Casey from Richmond; Steve Hall from Barbourville, West Virginia; Nan Moore from Louisville; Dr. Steven Moore from Coral Cables, Flordia; Dr. Joseph Scagnoli from Muncie, Indiana; Fran Shelton from Hendersonville, North Carolina; Jonathan Smith from Ludlow; and Jack Walker from London.
The championship includes both a preliminary and finals competition. The preliminary competition starts at 11:30 am. Each band will be evaluated for a Kentucky Music Educators Association sanctioned rating of Distinguished, Proficient, Apprentice, or Novice. In addition, the bands will compete for first, second, and third place in one of five classifications divided according to school size.
The finals competition begins at 5 pm. The bands will compete in the evening for a ranking of 1-11 regardless of school size. The highest scoring band will be awarded the coveted MSU Blue and Gold Grand Champion Award. Additional recognitions will include the Outstanding Auxiliary and Percussion Awards presented at the Preliminary Competition. The Finals Competition specialty awards will include recognition for the Best Visual Performance, Best Music Performance and Best General Effect.
High school participating (and performance times) are:
Shawe Memorial High School, 11:30 a.m.; Estill County High School, 11:45 a.m.; Lewis County High School, Noon; Russell High School, 12:30 p.m.; Lawrenceburg High School, 12:45 p.m.; Pike County Central High School, 1 p.m.;
Rowan County Senior High School, 1:30 p.m.; Harrison County High School, 1:45 p.m.; Bullitt Central High School, 2 p.m. Eastern High School, 2:30 p.m. Pleasure Ridge Park High School, 2:45 p.m.; and George Rogers Clark High School, 3 p.m.
The MSU Marching Band will perform at 8:15 and will precede the finals competition award ceremony. Dr. Thomas Singletary serves as the director of band and is assisted by Dr. Brian S. Mason, coordinator and arranger of the MSU Marching Percussion, and Matthew Geiger, marching percussion director. This year’s production features an exciting presentation of the music of James Bond.
General Admission is $10 for Adults and $5 for children. Children six and under are admitted free.
The MSU Blue and Gold Marching Band Championship is sponsored by the Morehead State University Bands.
Additional information is available by calling 606-783-2486.