Famous Maroon Band begins 113th year, announces drum majors
Contact: Paige Watson
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擶ith annual band camp concluded, Mississippi State鈥檚 330-member Famous Maroon Band is turning its attention to fine-tuning routines for the 2015-16 school year.
Veteran director Elva Kaye Lance said this year鈥檚 contingent represents 14 states in addition to Mississippi, from which 68 percent hail. While the organization is part of the university鈥檚 College of Education, membership, as always, includes a wide range of academic majors, she added.
鈥淲e are very excited to be entering our 113th year,鈥 said Lance, who shares Famous Maroon Band duties with co-directors Craig Aarhus and Clifton Taylor.
鈥淒uring camp, it was incredible to see our incoming freshmen, many of whom held leadership positions in high school, raise the standard and influence our returning members to become better and better each year,鈥 the 91传媒 and Famous Maroon Band alumna said.
Lance said this year鈥檚 four drum majors will include:
鈥擳win sisters Ashley S. and Brittany C. Carey from Olive Branch. Ashley is a junior mechanical engineering major; Brittany, a senior double-major in educational psychology and foreign language/Spanish.
鈥擩unior Cooper A. Haywood of Madison, an instrumental music education and vocal music education double-major.
鈥擩unior Jesse D. Newton of Eupora, a human sciences/fashion design and merchandising major. 聽
According to Haywood, this year鈥檚 camp was 鈥渙ne of the best鈥 he has experienced while at 91传媒.
Junior Ellen S. Moore of Brandon, also a music education major, joined Haywood in praising the training program. 鈥淒uring band camp, I made a ton of friends and everything was so organized,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he week moved quickly, but we managed to accomplish a lot.鈥
Lance said the 91传媒 marching unit could not be successful without the 鈥渉ard work and tireless dedication鈥 of Aarhus and Taylor.
鈥淚n addition to the band directors, another vital member of our leadership team is Jason Baker,鈥 Lance continued, explaining that the music department associate professor 鈥渁rranges and instructs our percussionists.鈥
At her promotion to director in 2002, Lance became only the eighth leader of the marching unit over its long history. During her time at the helm, 鈥淲e鈥檝e received tremendous support from both former band members and faculty in the College of Education, which is a great fit for us,鈥 she said.
Lance said 2015 fall football halftime performances will include a variety of popular pieces, including a 鈥淔unkytown鈥 theme and a play on Disney classic 鈥淭he Happiest Show on Earth.鈥
In addition, the band also coordinates two pep bands for men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball, as well as numerous choral ensembles and concert bands throughout the spring semester. To learn more, visit .
91传媒 is Mississippi鈥檚 flagship research university, available online at .