]Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band is going to be featured at the College Band Directors National Association conference in Austin, Texas on Friday, Mar. 27.
Based on overall excellence and creativity, the band’s 2008 show entitled “Work It!” was one of five band shows to be nationally chosen.
At the conference, Bob Buckner, director of athletic bands, Matt Henley and Jon Henson, assistant directors of athletic bands, will introduce a performance video of the 2008 exhibition show. The Pride of the Mountains 2008 show consisted of ten minutes worth of highly packed energy featuring singers, electronics and small ensembles, not to mention its use of visuals to enhance the performance of the 350 member marching machine. The show was largely inspired by the Blue Man Group and included pieces by Nelly, Missy Elliot, James Brown and many more.
Unique to the 2008 show was a drum solo written by Matt Henley to be accompanied by the actual recording of James Brown’s “Cold Sweat.” The Pride of the Mountains Marching Band sticks out amongst other bands for its ideas of combining old-school music with present day hits. The band has a reputation for being cutting-edge and remarkably entertaining.
Other bands to be featured alongside WCU include Texas Christian University, the University of California Los Angeles, the University of Arizona and Colorado State University.
“We are flattered to be mentioned in the same company as these other outstanding bands,” Bob Buckner remarks.
