Appalachian State University Marching Mountaineers

Marching Mountaineers
North Carolina's Band of Distinction
School Appalachian State University, Hayes School of Music
Location Boone, North Carolina, USA
Conference Sun Belt Conference
Founded 1933
Director Dr. Kevin Richardson
Members 250
Uniform Half black/half white jacket with gold accents and "Block A" on the front, gold cape draped over the right shoulder, black pants, socks, and shoes, black shako with black feather plume.

The Marching Mountaineers, also known as North Carolina's Band of Distinction, is the 250+ member marching band of Appalachian State University. The band performs at all Home Mountaineer football games and travels to select away games each year. The Marching Mountaineers were a participant in the 2006 and 2014 London New Year’s Day Parade.[1] The Band of Distinction also marched in the 2011 Cabalgata de Reyes in Madrid. They are recognized as one of the nations top collegiate marching bands and they present exhibition performances throughout the year.

Instrumentation

The Marching Mountaineers are divided into the following sections:

Songs

The Band of Distinction performs a Pre-game show about 20 minutes before kickoff. The show begins with a Simple Gifts fanfare which then rolls into the song Carolina Pride. The band then performs America the Beautiful and the National Anthem while the Colors are Presented followed by the Appalachian State alma mater, Cherished Vision. A tunnel is then formed by the band members that the football team enters the stadium through, a few minutes before kickoff. . The fight song, Hi Hi Yikas is also performed before kickoff and numerous times throughout each game. Before every Mountaineer kickoff the band performs the Olympic Fanfare (Buglers Dream). The bands Post game show after every football game that includes songs from their halftime repertoire along with several other tunes. Their signature post-game tunes are Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al," Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring and "The Tennessee Waltz." The Waltz, as it is known by members, was added as a standard of the band in the 1970s, when the fans began requesting the song be played after every game, after it was played as part of a halftime show.

Appalachian Marching Band Festival

The Appalachian Marching Band Festival, is a competition hosted by the Marching Mountaineers for high school marching bands every fall in Kidd Brewer Stadium on the campus of Appalachian State University. The Competition, which is organized by the Rho Tau Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, provides these bands a performance venue where they are critiqued by a panel of nationally recognized adjudicators and a chance to perform in a collegiate stadium. The top band of the day receives the Chancellors Cup which is sponsored and presented by the chancellor of Appalachian State University. 2015 is the 36th annual Marching Band Festival.

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Sherrie Norris (2005-12-08). "ASU Marching Band Heads To London". The Mountain Times. Retrieved 2009-06-05.

External links