ALL IS NOT WELL: The Cultural Issues Within The National Honorary Band Fraternity

IMG_20191128_200958_883.jpg I believe the fraternity has encountered another “Rutgers Incident”. Not a Federal Law changing the rules of the land, but rather another “incident” that will rattle the very core of the organization for years to come…

What Makes A Band Even More Spectacular?… A Great Announcer!

As I think back to some of the “legendary” marching band performances, a few voices from the past speak out to me and are forever attached to those performances

BAND STORIES: What Lead You To Join A College Band?

bellIt was a magical moment. One of the few times I got goosebumps from a marching band arrangement. I was sold. I knew it at that moment.

EXCERPTS FROM “THE MAN BEHIND THE BATON” BY DR. WILLIAM P. FOSTER: Excerpt Ten – “Slowing Down But Still Pushing Forward”

foster 96In this excerpt Dr Foster discusses tools he used to recruit for the Marching 100 and how successful these efforts proved to be over the years. He also mentions the talents of his very qualified staff and how their hard work and dedicated assistance made it possible for him to announce his retirement as Chair of the Department of Music and Director of Bands at Florida A&M University in 1998.

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND: The Parable of Tennessee State

TSU2Many would argue that any reputable list of “the best” black college bands would have to include at least one powerhouse from each conference. That’s a fair assumption, but at the same time it is the exact issue that has plagued Tennessee State University’s Aristocrat of Bands (AOB) and others.

EXCERPTS FROM “THE MAN BEHIND THE BATON” BY DR. WILLIAM P. FOSTER: Excerpt Nine – The FAMU Band Motto

2017-08-31 20.47.18 I created the motto because I needed something to help me guide band students to a higher place, a level of excellence for which they were all striving. It gave them something by which they could live daily.

IS BIGGER BETTER?: Can A Small Band Ever Really Be The “Best Band”?

24_4 Small bands have always had to work twice as hard, be twice as right, and sound twice as nice, just to be accepted as a formidable opponent. I guess that much has remained the same.

EXCERPTS FROM “THE MAN BEHIND THE BATON” BY DR. WILLIAM P. FOSTER: Excerpt Eight – The Bicentennial Bastille Day Parade

20170706_091804-1 EXCERPT EIGHT: The Bicentennial Bastille Day Parade – The Paris, France experience was exhilarating, a historic milestone and high honor for the band to be the official and sole representative of the United States of America in the Bastille Day Parade.

A TRADITION OF INNOVATION: The Traditional Style

93006225_134135417063 After more than 50 years, has there been significant innovation within the traditional style?… And Should there be?

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