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Montgomery County Wins 10th At State Fair Band Day
By Betsy Reason
Montgomery County United Marching Band member Crawfordsville High School senior Beth Turner performs during Indiana State Fair Band Day, where the band won 10th place of 37 bands.
Montgomery County United Marching Band & Guard performs Friday during Indiana State Fair Band Day, where the band won 10th place of 37 bands.
Montgomery County United Marching Band guard member Crawfordsville High School sophomore Bristol Presley performs during Indiana State Fair Band Day.
Montgomery County United Marching Band members CHS junior Georgianna Hernandez (from left), SouthMont grad Cailin Phillips, CHS junior Mercedes Randles and SouthMont freshman Isabella Elless perform Friday during Indiana State Fair Band Day, where the band won 10th place of 37 bands.
Montgomery County United Marching Band & Guard performs Friday during Indiana State Fair Band Day, where the band won 10th place of 37 bands.
Montgomery County United Marching Band and Guard members, Crawfordsville High School juniors Ruth Garcia (left) and Ximena Montero, perform Friday during Indiana State Fair Band Day, where the band won 10th place of 37 bands.
Montgomery County United Marching Band Guard member Crawfordsville High School sophomore Jaylan Wilson performs Friday during Indiana State Fair Band Day, where the band won 10th place of 37 bands.
Montgomery County United Marching Band guard member Crawfordsville High School junior Xcaret Aguilar performs during Indiana State Fair Band Day.
Montgomery County United Marching Band member, Crawfordsville High School sophomore Ian Hurt, performs Friday during Indiana State Fair Band Day, where the band won 10th place of 37 bands.
Montgomery County United Marching Band & Guard earned 10th place in Friday’s Indiana State Fair Band Day presented by Music Travel Consultants and Paige’s Music.
Montgomery County United Marching Band & Guard features 75 members of band and guard and is made up of students from Crawfordsville, Southmont Senior and North Montgomery high schools.
“My colleagues and I were super happy with our placing at Band Day,” Jonathon Tebbe, Crawfordsville’s band director, said on Monday.
“It was our highest placing ever and the first time Montgomery County (United Marching Band & Guard) has been represented in the Top 10 since 2010,” Tebbe said.
“The kids were electric. They knew what they wanted and went and got it, and we couldn’t have been more proud of their passion and work ethic this year,” he said.
The Band Day competition show theme was “Rise Above” and was “meant to represent the struggles of life and overcoming them to become the best version of yourself.” The repertoire used “Pictures at Bald Mountain” by Randall Standridge, which featured two classical favorites fused together, “Pictures at an Exhibition” and “Night on Bald Mountain” for a wonderfully dark score and powerful and exciting competition set.
Tebbe said, “We are very, very excited with how the show went.” Elizabeth Newnum, Southmont director of bands, and Andrew Simpkins, North Montgomery director of bands, join Tebbe as band directors for Montgomery County United, plus assistant director Kevin Brooks of North Montgomery and auxiliary director Thomas Hillenbrand.
While Friday’s heat was “definitely a factor,” Tebbe said the band had “great parents” who were making sure the students could rehearse and perform while staying hydrated and healthy. “It has been great to have them around so we can focus on making this group the best it can be from a performance standpoint.”
Earlier this year, Montgomery County United earned first place at Montgomery County, seventh place at Jay County and seventh place in Anderson.
“Tebbe said, “We are proud of what this group has achieved this year, and we appreciate the support that Montgomery County has given us this year.”
-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County in The Times, a subsidiary of Sagamore News Media and a sister paper of The Paper of Montgomery County