MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) – On Monday, University High School held its 8th Annual Showcase of Bands in Morgantown.
A Showcase of Bands is where the event is all about the marching bands and features a night of music, drill, and show routines.
The event showcased 15 local bands who have put in hundreds of hours to show off their hard work to the public.
The 15 bands in attendance were:
- Mountaineer Middle School
- Westwood Middle School
- Clay Battelle High School
- North Marion High School
- Brooke High School
- Buckhannon-Upshur High School
- Morgantown High School
- Mountain Ridge High School
- Fairmont State University
- Fairmont Senior High School
- Bridgeport High School
- Lewis County High School
- Laurel Highlands High School
- Albert Gallatin High School
- University High School
“It’s a wonderful feeling to see the camaraderie bands have for one another, as well as band parents have for one another,” said Kevin Tenney, UHS Showcase of Bands Organizer, “The bands respect each other even if the football teams do not, because they understand the hard work that’s been put, many many hours a week, many many hours through the summer and fall, and sometimes in the spring too, to perfect what they want to do.”
Marching band is both physically & mentally demanding, requiring students to play, read, and move at the same time.
Tenney says, “If a football player misses a tackle or if a basketball player misses a shot it’s not that big of a deal, but if a band member steps out of line or plays a wrong note everybody notices that right away, so with band, you have to be 100% accurate 100% of the time.”
The Showcase of Bands raises funds for instrument repairs, helps students afford uniform rentals, and pays other expenses the band & students may have.
Tenney says, “Mon County Schools is pretty good about distributing money to the bands, but it’s not near enough.”
To find out more information on University High School Band click here.