Bands of America

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Bands of America
Bands of America.svg Music for All.svg
Division: Music for All, Inc.
Activity: Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Orchestra
Founded: 1975
Country: United States
Current Grand Nationals Champion: Avon High School, Avon, Indiana (2009)
Official Website: http://www.musicforall.org


Bands of America (BOA), a division of Music for All, Inc., is a nonprofit organization that promotes high school music education in the United States. Specifically, BOA organizes many marching band competitions for high school students, including regional and national events. Its largest event is the Grand National Championships, an annual competition currently held in the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis which attracts 80 to 90 high school marching bands from around the country. No performance qualifications are required to compete.

In addition to marching band events, BOA also organizes concert band festivals and symposia, musical and leadership clinics, as well as the Honor Band of America and the newly formed Jazz Band of America. One of the largest events of the year is the annual Summer Symposium, which offers a week of instruction from some of the most renowned musicians in the world. High school students from across the nation come together on the campus of Illinois State University. The week includes camps for concert band, jazz band, percussion, marching band, colorguard, and the famous George N. Parks Drum Major Academy.

Contents

[edit] History of Grand National Championships

In 1976, the first Bands of America (originally founded in 1975 as "Marching Bands of America") marching band championship was held during the Summer National Championship in Whitewater, WI, as part of the Summer Workshop/Festival. Four years later, the first Grand National Championships (now commonly referred to as "Grand Nationals") was held at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, FL, which was won by the J. M. Tate High School because of a controversial timing penalty assessed against Flushing Senior High School.

Beginning in 1984, the competition was moved to Indianapolis, Indiana's Hoosier Dome (later renamed the RCA Dome in 1994). Except for Grand Nationals being briefly held in the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987 and 1988, it has remained in Indianapolis ever since. [1]

With the start of the 2008 marching season, the Grand National Championships will be held in the new Lucas Oil Stadium located immediately south of the site of the RCA Dome. Fans and competitors usually thrilled by the sight of the dome's roof on the city's skyline will be disappointed as it has been deflated while the site undergoes deconstruction to allow for an expansion to the Indiana Convention Center. The expansion will ultimately benefit the competition's student workshops and various demonstrations held there during the Grand National Championships when completed. [2]

[edit] Headquarters

The Music for All/Bands of America headquarters is located in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana at the historic Union Station. BOA's headquarters were previously located in Schaumburg, Illinois before relocating to Indianapolis in 2003.

[edit] BOA Honor Band in the Rose Parade

Bands of America has twice (2005 and 2009) been invited to have an Honor Marching Band perform at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. The Parade takes place on January 1. Under the direction of George N. Parks both years, the 300-member marching band is composed of select high school band students from all 50 states. Parks is the director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band. In 2009 the ensemble marched adjacent to four floats sponsored by NAMM, the International Music Products Association, who is a major sponsor of Bands of America. Each float featured a character from the TV show Sesame Street: Big Bird, Elmo, Abby, and Oscar the Grouch. Each float also carried a soloist or small ensemble that represented a different type of music. On the lead float was Bob McGrath, two backup singers, a jazz combo, and a string quartet; the next float carried a vocal soloist, the third float carried a Latin guitarist, and the final float carried a garbage can percussionist. Both the 2005 and 2009 bands played music by Gloria Estefan and the song "Stars and Stripes".[3]

[edit] Honor Band of America

Formed in 1992, the Honor Band of America (HBOA) is an honor concert band assembled by BOA every year. This ensemble is formed entireley of high school students. It has risen to become one of the finest, most respected honor ensembles in the United States. Most often they have the opportunity to be the first band to play newly commissioned concert band pieces. Students may learn more and apply for the HBOA by visiting the Music for All website. [4]

[edit] Jazz Band of America

A new ensemble first launched by BOA/Music for All in 2007, the Jazz Band of America consists of high school musicians who apply by taped audition. They have the opportunity of playing with world-class jazz musicians live on stage. [5]

[edit] Current locations of BOA Regionals & Super Regionals

In 2010, Regional competitions will be held in Louisville, KY, the Western Pennsylvania area, Kettering, OH, Arlington, TX, Jacksonville, AL, Houston, TX, Ypsilanti, MI, the Akron/Canton, OH area, the Mid-Atlantic area, the Southern California area, the Mountain West area, and Indianapolis, IN. Super Regional competitions will be held in St. Louis, MO, San Antonio, TX, and Atlanta, GA.

[edit] Past Grand National Marching Band Champions

BOA Super Regional Competition Award Ceremony, St. Louis, Missouri, 2005
From left to right: BOA Regional Finalist medal, BOA Super Regional Finalist medal, and a BOA Grand National Championships Finalist medal.

Show Title: Comm-UNIFORM-ity
Musical Selections:
"Symphony No.1" by Samuel Barber
"Symphony No.2" by Samuel Barber

  • 2008 - Avon High School - Avon, Indiana

Show Title: Mass-IV-e
Musical Selections:
Critical Mass ("La Fiesta Mexicana" by H. Owen Reed and "Symphony of Psalms" by Igor Stravinsky)
Weapons of Mass Destruction ("Ave Maria" by J.S. Bach)
Mass Media ("God Said" by Leonard Bernstein)
Mass Exodus ("Organ Symphony Mvt. III" by Aaron Copland)

Show Title: TRANSCENDents
Musical Selections:
Long, Long, Time Ago from Pan's Labyrinth by Javier Navarrete
Variations for Winds, Strings, & Keyboards by Steve Reich
Lux Aurumque: Light of Gold by Eric Whitacre
Original Composition by Donald Hill and Bret Kuhn

Show Title: Aqua
Musical Selections:
Harrison's Dream (Peter Graham)
Time to Say Goodbye (Andrea Bocelli)
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Benjamin Britten)
Original Music (Aaron Guidry)

Show Title: Suspended Symbols
Musical Selections:
Original Music (Richard Saucedo)

Show Title: La Rosa
Musical Selections:
Desolation (Arturo Rodriguez)
Danzon (Arturo Marquez)
Spanish Fantasy, Part IV (Chick Corea)

Show Title: Because We Are....
Musical Selections:
Oh Lois! from Metropolis Symphony (Michael Daugherty)
Dead Elvis (Michael Daugherty)
Lex from Metropolis Symphony (Michael Daugherty)
Water Night (Eric Whitacre)
Original Music (Mark Higginbotham)

Show Title: Liturgical Sketches
Musical Selections:
Ballet Exaltare (David Holsinger)
Requiem Aeternam (John Rutter)
Lassitare: The Old 100th Doxology

Show Title: Metamorphosis: Ancient Myth to a Modern Vision
Musical Selections:
The New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms (Michael Kamen)

Show Title: The Tragic Medusa
Musical Selections:
Gorgon (Christoper Rouse)
Flute Concerto (Christpoher Rouse)
Phantasmata (Christoper Rouse)

Show Title: Thoughtcrime, Music for an Orwellian Era
Musical Selections:
Circuits (Cindy McTee)
Lex from Metropolis Symphony (Michael Daugherty)
Red Cape Tango from Metropolis Symphony (Michael Daugherty)

Show Title: The Wind and the Lion
Musical Selections:
Music from The Wind and the Lion (Jerry Goldsmith)

Show Title: Portraits of the Orient
Musical Selections:
Music from 'Heaven and Earth' by Kitaro
"Three Japanese Dances Mvt 1: Dance of Pennons" by Bernard Rogers
Music from 'Joy Luck Club' by Rachel Portman
"Three Japanese Dances Mvt 3: Dance of Swords" by Bernard Rogers

Show Title: Queen of Spades
Musical Selections:
Vesti La Guibba (Ruggiero Leoncavallo)
Pique Dame (Peter Tchaikovsky)
La Danza
Nessun Dorma! (Giacomo Puccini)

Show Title: A Journey into the Adventure Zone: Music of Stephen Melillo

Show Title: Symphonic Music from South America
Musical Selections:
"La Fiesta Mexicana" by H. Owen Reed
"Sinfonia India" by Carlos Chavez
"Pampeana No. 3 Mvt 2: 'Imperpetuosomente' by Alberto Ginastera

Show Title: The Music of Paul Hindemith
Musical Selections:
Symphony in Bb (Paul Hindemith)
Symphonic Metamorphosis (Paul Hindemith)

Show Title: Tower Of Power
Musical Selections:
So Very Hard To Go (Kupka & Castillo)
Down to The Nightclub (Kupka, Castillo & Garibaldi)
You’re Still A Young Man (Kupka & Castillo)
What Is Hip? (Kupka, Castillo & Garibaldi)


Show Title: Sunday in the Park with George

Show Title: Music of Stephen Sondheim

Musical Selections:
Requiem (Giuseppe Verdi)
Night and Day (Cole Porter)
(If You Believe) Believe In Youself (Charlie Smalls)
(Somewhere) Over The Rainbow (Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg)

[edit] Summer National Championships

Musical Selections:
Slavonic Dances, op. 46, no. 1 by Antonín Dvořák
Eleanor Rigby by Paul McCartney; based on arr. by Gene Puerling for The Singers Unlimited
Appalachian Spring (selections from the orchestral suite) by Aaron Copland

[edit] Trivia

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2009)
  • The most BOA Grand National Championships won by any school is seven by Marian Catholic High School of Chicago Heights, Illinois. The band program also holds a record 15 BOA Grand Nationals Class Championships and an unprecedented five BOA Summer National Championships.
  • The highest score ever posted in a Bands of America Event was 97.75 by Avon High School (Avon, Indiana) at the 2008 Grand National Championship Finals.
  • The highest score at a BOA Regional Championship was by Marcus High School (Flower Mound, TX) with a 96.20 at the 2007 Bands of America San Antonio, Texas Super Regional Championships.
  • The longest consecutive and uninterrupted national championship streak is three years, held by Marian Catholic High School (1987,1988,1989). Rocky Mount High School of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, won in three consecutive appearances (1983,1984,1986).
  • The largest scoring gap between 1st and 2nd place at BOA Grand Nationals was 5.60 set in 1988 by Marian Catholic over Lake Park High School. The following year the two high schools set another record [at the time] for smallest scoring gap at .3 (Marian over Lake Park). To this day, Greg Bimm has not handed out the Grand National Champion medals to the 1989 band.
  • The smallest margin of points between 1st and 2nd place at Grand National Finals occurred in both 2001 & 2003. In 2001, Lawrence Central High School (Indianapolis, IN) won by 0.05 points over Carmel High School (Carmel, Indiana), despite capturing no captions. In 2003, Westfield High School (Houston, TX) won by 0.05 points over Ronald Reagan High School (San Antonio, TX).
  • The 2001 Grand Nationals presented the closest scoring gap between several groups, with 1st (Lawrence Central High School) and 5th (Marian Catholic High School) places separated by less than 1.0 point.
  • The longest streak of consecutive BOA Grand National Finals appearances is held by Marian Catholic High School (1984- ).
  • The longest streak of winning consecutive BOA Regional Championships belongs to Centerville High School (Centerville, OH). The "Centerville Jazz Band" holds 8 wins from 2002-2006. They were Regional Champions at the Toledo,OH, Massilon, OH (twice), Pontiac, MI (3 times), Youngstown OH and Atlanta, GA Regionals.
  • Band Members throughout the years propagated certain pranks which could only be applied at the RCA Dome while competing at the Indianapolis Regional and Grand Nationals Championships. Most widespread were:
    • The assurance to freshman and first-year band members of the necessity to "hold your breath" when passing through the air-lock onto the field of the RCA Dome, claiming that if one didn't do so their ears would violently "pop" from the pressure change.
    • Band directors and section leaders would assert to younger marchers not to watch the two large jumbotrons at either end of the football field while performing. However, after performing and while awaiting scores in the stands, veteran marchers would challenge the younger players to have a staring contest with the RCA mascot dogs on the oversized screens claiming that if you watched long enough, you would see the dogs blink.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Music for All History". http://www.musicforall.org/aboutus/history.aspx. Retrieved 2008-10-29. 
  2. ^ "WTHR - Indianapolis News Weather -City skyline changes with RCA Dome deflation". 2008-09-24. http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?s=9063531. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  3. ^ "The BOA Honor Band in the 2009 Rose Bowl Parade". Music For All newsletter (Indianapolis, Indiana: Music For All) 21 (1): 16. January/February 2008. http://www.musicforall.org/resources/newsletters/pdf/08hsjan.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
  4. ^ www.musicforall.org/programs/HBOA
  5. ^ http://www.musicforall.org/Programs/JBOA/
  6. ^ http://www.emeraldregime.org/mba_1976.htm

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bands_of_America"