WSSU Selected to Participate in the Honda Battle of the Bands
October 28, 2011
EDITORS: Representatives from Honda will visit the WSSU campus on Tues. Nov. 1, at 10 a.m. to make the announcement in a presentation at the WSSU clock tower. The band will perform at the event.For the second consecutive year, the “Red Sea of Sound” marching band from Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) has been chosen to participate in the annual Honda Battle of the Bands.
The WSSU band is one of eight chosen from 41 participating Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to be a part of the 10th Annual International Showcase which will be held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 28, 2012. The bands are selected by HBCU presidents and band directors as well as through online fan voting. Each school earns a $20,000 grant for its band scholarship fund and an all-expenses-paid trip to Atlanta.
“It is quite an honor to be able to have a return performance at this prestigious event that showcases the best HBCU bands in the country,” said Dr. Michael Magruder, interim chair of the fine arts department, director of bands and professor of music at WSSU. “The Battle of the Bands provides an outstanding performance experience for our students and the financial grant certainly is important support for our music program. I am extremely proud of our band members and delighted for them to receive this well-deserved recognition. Also, we certainly appreciate the support we received from those who voted for us and made this opportunity possible.”
The Honda Battle of the Bands is the only national scholarship program that highlights music education as an important facet of HBCU heritage, culture and education. This year, it is celebrating its tenth anniversary with the theme “The Homecoming” and will have more than 2,000 student-musicians participating in the event. Each band will have 12 minutes to showcase the musical skills, style and showmanship that earned them their place in the 2012 Invitational Showcase.
* * *
Contacts: Nancy Young Aaron Singleton
Director Director
Public and Media Relations Media Relations
336-750-8764 (office) 336-750-3152 (office)
336-413-1472 (mobile) 336-414-9366 (mobile)
youngnn@wssu.edu singletona@wssu.edu
