MARCHING.COM: Marching bands gather for 2009 Bands of America Grand National Championships

More than 90 bands from 20 states scheduled to perform

Updated November 11, 2009

Bourbon County H.S. (Kentucky) performed in semi-finals at the 2008 Grand National Championships in the new Lucas Oil Stadium.

Bourbon County H.S. (Kentucky) performed in semi-finals at the 2008 Grand National Championships in the new Lucas Oil Stadium.

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 9, 2009 — More than 90 marching bands from across the United States will perform in the nation's pre-eminent marching band event, the Bands of America Grand National Championships, presented by Yamaha, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis from Wednesday, November 11 through Saturday, November 14.

Bands from 20 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin) will converge on Indianapolis for the championships. In addition, an all-time high of seven bands from Indianapolis Public Schools will kick off the event November 11 with the IPS Marching Band Tournament.

A panel of nationally known music educators and marching band experts will evaluate each competing band in the IPS Marching Band Tournament Wednesday and the Grand National Championships Thursday through Saturday. Thirty bands from Thursday and Friday's preliminary competition will advance to Saturday's Semi-Finals, with the top 12 scoring bands on Saturday advancing to the evening finals competition, where the Grand National Champion will be named.

Three college bands will perform in exhibition: the Indiana State University Marching Sycamores on Wednesday evening, the University of Michigan Marching Band on Friday evening, and the West Chester University Golden Rams Marching Band on Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon.

IPS Marching Band Tournament
The four-day Championships event begins on Wednesday when seven IPS marching bands perform in the Sharp Business Systems IPS Marching Band Tournament, presented by Yamaha, from 7-9 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium. This represents the highest number of schools participating in the increasingly competitive IPS Marching Band Tournament. The evening's competition will open with a special performance by hundreds of Indianapolis Public Schools elementary school instrumental music students accompanying Indiana State University's Marching Sycamores in the National Anthem.

The marching bands from Arlington High School, Arsenal Technical High School, Broad Ripple Magnet High School, Emmerich Manual High School, Northwest High School, Thomas Carr Howe Academy and Washington Community School will compete in the IPS Tournament. Broad Ripple returns to defend its title, while Emmerich Manual and Washington come as new competitors. D.J. Mic P from Hoosier Hot 96 will return as emcee. Spirit judges will award the most spirited, enthusiastic school with the Spirit Award and a $1,000 scholarship for the school's band program. Tickets are available for free in advance from any of the bands participating in the Tournament or at the event for $5.

Music for All's Bands of America is hosting the IPS Marching Band Tournament as part of Grand Nationals, giving the IPS marching band members the opportunity to perform in a professional stadium at no cost to IPS. The tournament is one of the many ways Music for All supports music education in Indianapolis Public Schools.

Parent/Booster Award
Friday evening's festivities will include the presentation of the Patrick John Hughes Parent/Booster Award, a national award honoring an outstanding band parent and supporter. The award is named in honor of Louisville resident Patrick John Hughes, co-author with his son Patrick Henry of "I Am Potential." The Hughes family has been featured on ESPN, ABC World News Tonight and NPR's All Things Considered for their inspirational family story, and they also were on ABC's Extreme Home Makeover. Mr. Hughes will attend the Friday evening presentation.

Tickets
Tickets are available at TicketMaster.com, TicketMaster by phone and at the Lucas Oil Stadium ticket office. Tickets for the four days of events start at $5 up to $115; discounts are available for children, students, senior citizens and active Military personnel and their spouses. See all ticket prices and discounts at www.musicforall.org.

Live Webcasts
All Grand National performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be broadcast online as live webcasts by subscription and pay-per-view. Visit www.musicforall.org for complete event and performance schedules and to order the live Webcast.

Music for All (MFA) is one of the nation's largest and most influential organizations in support of active music-making. Headquartered in Indianapolis, MFA uniquely combines regional and national music-event programming with awareness campaigns and advocacy aimed at expanding access to music in schools and communities, including significant support of the IPS music education programs. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization, MFA's programs include 25-plus annual events, including the Music for All National Festival, the Music for All Summer Symposium, the Bands of America Grand National marching band championships and Regional marching band championships across the country. Learn more at www.musicforall.org.

See more information about the Bands of America Grand National Championships on Marching.com.

Text courtesy of Music For All. Photo by Marching.com.

Copyright 2009 Marching.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published or redistributed without permission.

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Nation's best marching bands gather for Bands of America Grand National Championships