September 20, 2019
Busy week for the K-State Bands
While the football team collected its third win over Mississippi State Sept. 14, the K-State Bands kept up with an active pace on campus.
On Sept. 14, the K-State Marching Band performed three pep bands: the Wildcat Run for Wellness 5K at the Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex, a former band member's wedding reception, and K-State football victory pep band. Another pep band last Sunday welcomed the Ed Cats back to school.
On Sept. 18, Frank Tracz, director of bands, and Alex Wimmer, assistant director of bands, and a handful graduate and undergraduate student staff adjudicated and provided feedback at the Bonner Springs Marching Festival. Eleven bands from the Kansas City area performed their halftime/competition show and received a 30-minute clinic with the K-State band staff. It was the first festival performance for many of the schools and the K-State band staff helped them start their season on the correct foot.
On Saturday, Sept. 21, Tracz will present the Sudler Trophy to the West Chester University Marching Band at halftime of the football game in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Sudler Trophy is awarded biannually to a college or university marching band that has demonstrated the highest of musical standards and innovative marching routines and ideas, and has made important contributions to the advancement of the performance standards of college marching bands over a number of years. The Pride of Wildcat Land was the recipient of the Sudler Trophy in 2015 and Tracz is now the chair of the Sudler Committee. He and the 12-member committee reviewed 25 nominations for the award.