Wednesday, October 15, 2003
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Wednesday, October 15, 2003 |
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FCHS band finishes in top 10 You just might have heard the distant roar of excited cheers two Saturdays ago, coming all the way from Johnson City, Tenn. The Fayette County Marching Tiger Band exploded as they received the news of their top-ten finish in the Bands of America regional competition. Thirty-two competitive marching bands from across the southeast met at the East Tennessee State University dome to perform their routines before a panel of judges. The Fayette County Marching Band performed a program called 'Saturday Morning Fever, 'based on an arrangement of 'Cartoon'by Paul Hart.Over 200 members of the band and color guard brought to life a lively musical of a typical Saturday morning, including watching cartoons, doing chores, playing games, and dressing up . "The show is fun and games,"said director Kenneth Beard, "but the work was hard." Beard and assistants Myra Rhoden and Eric Slay direct the Marching Tiger band. Beard is a 14-year veteran of Fayette County High School, while Rhoden and Slay joined the staff just this year. Doug Dee, a former director at Fayette County, arranged the music, injecting popular themes from Warner Brothers cartoons. Dee is the current director at Whitewater High School, but remains a Marching Tiger supporter. His booming 'GO TIGERS!'from the stands just before competition helped inspire the band's winning performance. The hard-working students began learning their music and the complex routine in July, well before the start of school. Student drum majors Sarah Bradley, Jasmine Carter and Hannah Massie conducted the band for weeks of training under the summer sun to produce the show. The members of the color guard, under the direction of Chris Key, began practices even earlier. Zoe Pogrelis directed the drumline practices and created a tight rhythmic backbone for the piece. The investment of blood, sweat and tears paid off with the results of the Bands of America competition.The band will continue to perform at football games and at local competitions. The band will perform Oct. 25 in exhibition at the LaFayette Marching Classic, a local band competition hosted by the Fayette County Band Boosters and held at the Fayette High School football stadium. The public is invited to see the show. |
