Famous Maroon Band keeps getting bigger and better after nearly 12 decades at ��ӽ紫ý

Group photo of ��ӽ紫ý's 2019 Famous Maroon Band — With 420 students, Mississippi ��ӽ紫ý’s 117-year-old Famous Maroon Band is the largest college band in university history. (Photo submitted by Craig Aarhus)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Individually, they represent a variety of backgrounds, academic majors and career aspirations. Together, 420 students in Mississippi ��ӽ紫ý’s 117-year-old Famous Maroon Band make up the largest college band in university history.

“It is an exciting time to be a part of the university and the band program,” said ��ӽ紫ý Director of Bands Elva Kaye Lance. “Our students represent every college and ��ӽ紫ý on campus and really are a microcosm of the university student enrollment. We are excited to again serve this year as the ‘soundtrack’ for so many significant university events.”

With an overall average GPA of 3.3 and ACT score of 27.3, this year’s Famous Maroon Band membership consists of 16 high ��ӽ紫ý valedictorians and 10 salutatorians. Students hail from 19 U.S. states, as well as Colombia, South America.

An ��ӽ紫ý alumna, Lance said she and associate directors Craig Aarhus and Clifton Taylor have been pleased with new and current band students’ professionalism and willingness to learn in preparation for a busy year.

“Those of us in leadership positions with the band realize we are standing on the shoulders of all who have gone before us and who have established the performance traditions that have become the Famous Maroon Band,” Lance said.

“With this large group, it is imperative that the students respond quickly to our instruction and that they help us keep the spaces organized and orderly,” she said. “They demonstrated outstanding cooperation in all areas. Additionally, they are talented musicians, which makes our job as directors a lot of fun.”

Aarhus said 275 high ��ӽ紫ý students from across the region who make up the university’s annual Marching Honor Band will join Famous Maroon Band members in a Sept. 14 halftime performance during ��ӽ紫ý’s home football game versus Kansas ��ӽ紫ý.

The band’s fall halftime performances include “Musical Royalty” and “Savage”-themed shows, as well as the annual homecoming and patriotic shows.

In October, Aarhus said family and community members will be invited to rehearsals as part of a Famous Maroon Band meet and greet.

The ��ӽ紫ý Wind Ensemble, the premier performing group of the university’s band program, will make two major appearances during the academic year. Lance will conduct the ensemble for its December performance in Natchez at the Mississippi Bandmasters Association ��ӽ紫ý Band Clinic, as well as its March 2020 performance in Biloxi at the American Bandmasters Association Annual Convention.

��ӽ紫ý’s Famous Maroon Band is part of the College of Education’s nationally accredited Department of Music. For more, visit , and .

��ӽ紫ý is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at .

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