Take the Field: Introduction

Who’s got the best band in the land? Who has what it takes to be a national champion? Let’s take
a moment to review top high school bands in the 2006 Bands of America and US Scholastic Band
Association circuits as the 2007 championships get underway.

USSBA

Last year, the United States Scholastic Band Association (USSBA) crowned its first overall National Champion after 10 weeks with 150 marching festivals involving more than 700 bands. The USSBA, made up of regions throughout the United States, had not crowned an overall winner since Youth Education in the Arts (YEA!) created it in 1988.

The North Penn High School Marching Knights of Lansdale, Pa., took the title of Overall Champion as well as Group VI National Champion with a score of 98.475. North Penn’s program titled “Voice of Genius” topped nine other bands competing in Class VI.  …

Click here to read full profiles of USSBA’s top three bands from 2006.

BOA

The 2006 Bands of America (BOA) Grand National Championships were held Nov. 9 to 11 in Indianapolis, at the RCA Dome. The event showcased 93 high school bands from 40 states throughout the United States.

The Pride of Broken Arrow marching band, a five-time Grand National Finalist, captured BOA’s top honors for the first time in 2006.

Click here to read full profiles of BOA’s top three bands from 2006.

Photo by Jolesch Photography, http://www.jolesh.com/.

About author

Gregory M. Kuzma

Gregory M. Kuzma (www.gregorymkuzma.com), who simply goes by “GM,” is a performing arts consultant for drum and bugle corps and marching bands around the United States. A drum and bugle corps veteran, he is the author of the book “On the Field From Denver, Colorado … The Blue Knights!,” which highlights his 1994 summer tour adventures as a drum corps member.

GE Demystified

Advice for drum lines from Dennis DeLucia. From Halftime Magazine, a print and online publication about the marching arts.