CBS 42 KEYE-TV, a television station in central Texas, showcased 16 local high school drum lines with its fifth annual Marching Band Challenge. KEYE-TV aired the groups’ performances during halftime broadcasts of preseason Dallas Cowboys games, and then viewers voted online for their favorites.
“Viewers as well as sponsors are all really thrilled that a local TV station in the community has created and continues to carry an endeavor as large as marching band,” says Andrianna Orosco-Jordan, sales project specialist at KEYE-TV.
The drum line from Hendrickson High School’s Hawk Band of Pflugerville, Texas, took home the trophy by performing a section of its field show. It won a cash award, products from Innovative Percussion and a 1-year subscription to Halftime Magazine for each member of the drum line. “It was a huge boost for the students,” says Andrew Polk, director of percussion studies. “We were really pushing the envelope this year, and to be recognized by their peers and the public for trying something different was a huge boost to the program and their confidence.”
