It has a new name this year, but it is the same marching band competition that has drawn area bands to Catawba College for the past five years. The Catawba Pride Marching Band Classic, formerly the Lord Salisbury Marching Band Classic, gets underway in Catawba's Shuford Stadium at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 8.
While the event will be the same as those enjoyed by thousands of attendees in recent years, the competition's name change this year reflects Catawba's addition of its own marching band, the Catawba Pride.
The following bands have registered to beginning at 2 p.m: A.L. Brown, Carson, Central Cabarrus, Central Davidson, Independence, J. M. Robinson (overall grand champions in this competition for past two years), North Davidson, North Rowan, North Stanly, Piedmont, Pisgah, Salisbury, and West Davidson.
Again this year, students who are members of one of the competing bands have an opportunity to enter a Catawba Pride Scholarship contest. The contest offers the students an opportunity at one of five annual scholarships if they apply and are accepted at Catawba and accepted as a member of the Catawba Pride. The contest offers one (1) top scholarship award of $2,500, two (2) $2,000 scholarship awards, and two (2) $1,500 scholarships awards. These auditioned scholarships are renewable for as long as the student recipient remains in good standing throughout their studies at Catawba. Winners will be announced Oct. 8 during the Final Awards Ceremony at the Catawba Pride Marching Band Classic.
The event is organized and run by the Catawba College Chapter 1002 of the National Association for Music Educators (NAFME) and sponsored in partnership with the Carolina's Medical Center – Northeast, the Rowan County Sherriff's Office, and High Note Music, as well as many other community sponsors and volunteers. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 6-12. Concessions will be available including pizza, burgers, soft drinks, bottled water, popcorn and other items will be on sale throughout the event. Programs containing information about each band and t-shirts with the names of all bands competing will also be available for sale.
All bands will compete in a preliminary round, beginning at 2 p.m. with the top scoring bands moving onto the Finals competition that is slated to begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. In both tiers of competition, the bands will have a 30-minute warm-up period prior to their performance. The bands will be categorized according to size division – smallest to largest (A; AA; AAA; and AAAA), according to the number of wind instruments in each. Each size division will be awarded a first, second or third place trophy for their ratings in all categories, and are eligible for the grand champion award, which is presented to the highest overall rating for the day, regardless of class size.
Bands will perform their marching shows in order to receive critiques, numerical scores, and ratings from a professional judging staff in categories of Music Execution, Marching Execution, General Effect, Drum Major, Percussion, and Color Guard.
The contest will begin with the National Anthem performed by selected students from the Catawba Pride Marching Band. The Catawba Pride, under the direction of Jay Meachum, will also offer an exhibition performance after the preliminary awards ceremony.
For more details on the competition, contact Dr. Steve Etters in the Catawba College Department of Music at (704) 637-4476.
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PHOTOS: 2011 Catawba Pride Marching Band Classic
RESULTS: 2011 Catawba Pride Marching Band Classic
Catawba Pride Marching Band Classic
Catawba PRIDE Marching Band and Other Ensembles
