On September 17, the Skyhawk Marching Band Invitational (SMBI) took place from 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., giving high schools the chance to perform on the UTM campus.
“One of the main purposes of SMBI is to give marching bands the opportunity to compete. It gives high school bands a good time, coming and seeing what other bands do,” said Elaine Harriss, UTM Music Department Chair.
The expenses from this event go to putting on the program itself and to the UTM Skyhawk Marching Band.
“There are several things to pay for with an event like this – judges, personnel, trophies, printed programs and more. The money that is left over is used to fund the expenses of the marching band. One of the main reasons we do this is to fund the band, because it takes a lot to keep them running,” Harriss said.
The event began with bands playing their shows in small divisions all the way up to big divisions. After all the high school bands performed for the day, the UTM Skyhawk Marching Band performed their 2011 show for the guests. Then, the Award Ceremony took place, giving bands trophies for their accomplishments on the field, by division.
Harriss said that it not only gave high school bands a good time, but affected the residents of Martin and the university as a whole.
“A lot of people enjoy coming and seeing lots of marching bands. It’s a good experience and good economic impact. It also is a good thing for the university because it brings high school students on campus,” Harriss said.
It not only gave experience to high schools, but gave experience to music students at UTM.
“SMBI helps the music students. They’re put in a lot of positions to help. It couldn’t be run without the music students. There are so many responsibilities to let them see what it’s like for their future jobs. It’s always an exciting event that turns out to be fun for everyone, even though it’s hard work. The two band directors, Nola Jones and Matthew Stratton and the band members deserve praise for all the work they do to make it happen, along with the other music faculty and students,” Harriss said.
