Current News
Dr. Larry Blocher and Mr. Jim Rupp, guest artists with the K-State Bands
The K-State Band program as well as the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance was proud
to have Dr. Larry Blocher and Mr. Jim Rupp as guest artists from May 5th through May
7th. Dr. Larry Blocher is the current head of the School of Music at Troy University
and is one of the founding authors and editors of the Teaching Music Through Performance
in Band series. Dr. Blocher was a guest conductor for both the Wind Ensemble and Wind
Symphony in their Monday and Tuesday concerts, presenting stirring interpretations
of wind band literature. Dr. Blocher also presented lectures to music education and
conducting classes. Mr. Jim Rupp is presently the drum set instructor at The Ohio
State University and has toured with many famous groups and artists including Maynard
Ferguson and Woody Herman. Mr. Rupp performed two drum set concertos with the Wind
Ensemble and Wind Symphony: Reactions by Dave Morgan and Riffs by Jeff Tyzik. Mr.
Rupp also spoke with many percussion and jazz students at K-State, sharing his years
of experience and expertise. We are very fortunate to have such incredible musicians
join us as guests here at K-State.
Andrew Feyes Finalist for GTA of the Year at K-State
Graduate assistant with the K-State Bands, Andrew Feyes was selected as one of two finalists for the Golden Key Honors Society GTA of the Year Award. This is a campus wide award that seeks to acknowledge outstanding graduate teaching assistants. Andrew is currently finishing his Ph.D. in music education at K-State. As a GTA with the K-State bands, Andrew serves as the director of the Volleyball Band, Pub Crawl Band, and Brass Ensemble. He also organizes the daily activities of the University Band while assisting with the marching band, basketball "CatBand," and all three auditioned concert bands. Congratulations Andy!!
The K-State Wind Ensemble finishes an incredible tour!
The K-State wind ensemble has just finished it's tour of the Midwest and east coast. The tour began the Thursday before spring break with its first performance at Union High School in St. Louis , MO. The band then performed in Pickerington HS in Columbus, Ohio before continuing on to Cleveland, Ohio. On Sunday the band performed with the legendary professional Packard Band in Warren Ohio. The Wind Ensemble continued on to Washington D.C. where they spent three days attending local concerts and participating in rehearsal with the President's Own United States Marine Band. The band was truly honored to be the guests of the premier service concert band in the country. After Washington D.C., the group went south to Greensboro, North Carolina to attend the College Band Director's National Association National Conference to hear the nation's top college wind ensembles and learn from some of the leading conductors in the profession.
The K-State Marching Band Recieves Significant donation to Scholarship Account
Dr. Tracz and the K-State Marching band were presented a check for $100,000 at a Men's Basketball game versus this February. The $100,000 is a check made to the Kansas State Marching band from Athletics for the band's cooperation in planning this past winter's trip to the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. This check represents some of the money saved by both the band and the athletic department for the band volunteeringly electing to take bus transportation to the BCS Fiesta Bowl instead of flying. This money would go to the band's Marching Pride Scholars fund. The decision to accept this offer was made by Dr. Tracz in cooperation with Athletics, Band Staff, and Band leadership. The $100,000 will significantly add to the Marching Pride Scholarship program which will eventually provide financial assistance and scholarships to all of the Juniors and Seniors in the K-State Marching Band. A similar donation was made in the spring of 2011 to the band for busing to the Pinstripe Bowl in New York City. The photo above shows Dr. Tracz being presented with the check by K-State Athletic Director John Currie.