Four local high school marching bands will be heading down to Indianapolis tomorrow for the Indiana State School Music Association Open Class Semi-State Marching Band Festival. Students from Bremen, John Glenn, Knox and Plymouth will join 80 other bands from around the state competing to be chosen as one of the 10 bands who will represent their class at the 45th Annual Indiana State Marching Band Finals.
As the sole band representing Starke County, the Knox Band Boosters are asking community members and business owners to put up signs or decorate their windows today to show support for these students. Booster Sandra Redden said the marching band members sacrificed every Saturday since the start of the school year, not to mention band camp during the summer.
She said, in all they have dedicated more than 200 hours of practice to their show entitled Pi 3.14. Friends and family as well as faculty and former band members are encouraged to come out and line Redskin Trail to see the band members off and wish them luck at their performance tomorrow.
The busses leave at 11:30 CT so people are being asked to fill the schools’ parking lots as well as the lots of Fire Star and Walgreens prior to that time. Bring signs and be prepared to honk your horn as the busses leave for Indy. This is a simple way for the community to show their support to the band instructors, musicians and performers for all their hard work and dedication that has brought them to this point.
Each band is entered into a category based on school size and that influences where they perform. Pride of Plymouth is led by their director Brian Ames and they will be competing in Open Class B. Their performance will take place at Pike High School around 2:30 p.m.
John Glenn and Knox will be competing in Open Class C, performing at Decatur Central High School. The John Glenn band director is Nathanael Suddeth and his students will be performing at approximately 2:30 p.m. The Knox Redskin Brigade is guided by their director Craige Phipps. They will perform around 5:45 p.m.
The Bremen marching band’s director is Matthew Sutton, and they will be competing in Open Class D, performing at Franklin Community High School around 5:45 p.m.
Awards are scheduled to be presented at each individual site around 6 p.m. All times listed above are in Eastern Standard Time.
