Special to The Messenger

Sep. 26, 2001 10 PM

Richard M. Scruchy Field at Memorial Stadium will be alive with the sounds of the best high school marching bands from all over the south this Saturday.

On Sept. 29 the city of Troy, the Troy state University Sound of the South and the Charles Henderson Band Foundation will host the 32nd Annual Southeastern States Marching Band Festival.

More than 2,000 high school students from 23 schools from every size classification will gather at Troy State University to take part in the marching band festival and perform for a panel of judges.

Differing from a band competition in which band compete against each others for places and trophies, the festival offers bands an opportunity to perform for judges who will score them on set standards. The bands will receive separate scores for the drum major, majorettes, color guard and band and will receive an overall average score for the band as a unit.

Scores range from the lowest of four to one, which is the best.

Unlike a regular competition, each band receives awards for participation as well as awards for participation as well as awards according to the judges’ scores. The festival begins with the smaller bands performing first and ending with the larger 4A class.

Gates open at 10 a.m. with the first performance beginning at noon. The Charles Henderson High School Blue Machine as well as the TSU Sound of the South will perform in exhibition beginning at 6:30 p.m. The awards ceremony will take place at mid-field at about 7:15 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the main gate. Tickets are $5 and children under 5 are admitted free. Souvenir programs will be sold near the main gate.

Charles Henderson Middle School and CHHS students as well as members of the Sound of the South will serve as guides for the bands throughout the day before their exhibition that evening.

Talent takes on many forms. Local athletes compete in events throughout the year and the community is proud of their abilities. The band programs provide an outlet, which combines athleticism, music, grace and showmanship. The students who make up these bands are listed on honor rolls each year, and many of the valedictorians and salutatorians of senior classes are band students. The array of talent these young people possess are a continuous asset to the communities they represent.

The Charles Henderson Band Foundation invites everyone to come to the 32nd Annual Southeastern States Marching Band Festival Saturday and enjoy a day of entertainment. Proceeds from this fund-raising event will fund the CHMS band and the CHHS Blue Machine.