Post by aggierattler on Sept 18, 2015 12:34:57 GMT -5
"Say it ain't so: Budget constraints mean A&T band won't perform at Elon Saturday"
Posted Sep. 17, 2015 at 6:34 PM
Updated Sep 17, 2015 at 6:37 PM
N.C. A&T State University’s famed band won’t be part of the festivities Saturday night at Rhodes Stadium when the Aggies visit Elon for a football game.
“It’s a budget thing,” Dr. Kenneth Ruff, director of bands at A&T, said Thursday. “We’re like everyone else. It’s money driven.”
The Blue & Gold Marching Machine won’t appear just a week after a much-discussed halftime show last Saturday in Chapel Hill, where the Aggies faced off against the University of North Carolina. There, the bands for both universities combined for part of the halftime show.
The A&T band is often a major attraction with high-speed, high-stepping, rousing performances.
Elon officials have noted since last week that the Aggies football team won’t be accompanied by the band. Word of that development was met by groans of disappointment at one Burlington meeting this week.
Ruff said he must work within a budget. He said the cost to take the band to Elon, which is less than 20 miles away, would be about $10,000, largely for transportation and meals. Last year, the band attended the game at Elon.
“We have to decide which trips we can go to,” Ruff said. “There’s a lot of people, and it takes money to move the band.”
Ruff, who’s in his 12th year in the position and a former assistant principal and band director at Eastern Guilford High School, said there was a time when the band would attend all A&T games. Budget issues have surfaced, and he said the band also will miss the game against Florida A&M on Oct. 31 in Tallahassee, Fla. That trip would have cost about $50,000, Ruff said.
“We want to have a variety of educational experiences for my students,” he said.
Including color guard and dancers, about 200 students are on the field for a Blue & Gold Marching Machine performance. There’s also a large support staff.
The joint performance in Chapel Hill came after much planning, Ruff said. The A&T band practiced with the UNC-CH band earlier in the day, and the bands dined together in a university cafeteria.
By the end of the weekend, the performance had drawn widespread attention on social media. Days later, spectators who attended the game in Chapel Hill were remembering the halftime show more than the football action.
Even for a band that regularly receives attention and accolades, the latest appearance by the Blue & Gold Marching Machine produced rave reviews.
“I would say so,” Ruff said of the increased exposure. “We’re used to doing great performances, so that’s nothing new.”
From the Burlington Times-News (9/19/15): www.thetimesnews.com/article/20150917/NEWS/150918946
Posted Sep. 17, 2015 at 6:34 PM
Updated Sep 17, 2015 at 6:37 PM
N.C. A&T State University’s famed band won’t be part of the festivities Saturday night at Rhodes Stadium when the Aggies visit Elon for a football game.
“It’s a budget thing,” Dr. Kenneth Ruff, director of bands at A&T, said Thursday. “We’re like everyone else. It’s money driven.”
The Blue & Gold Marching Machine won’t appear just a week after a much-discussed halftime show last Saturday in Chapel Hill, where the Aggies faced off against the University of North Carolina. There, the bands for both universities combined for part of the halftime show.
The A&T band is often a major attraction with high-speed, high-stepping, rousing performances.
Elon officials have noted since last week that the Aggies football team won’t be accompanied by the band. Word of that development was met by groans of disappointment at one Burlington meeting this week.
Ruff said he must work within a budget. He said the cost to take the band to Elon, which is less than 20 miles away, would be about $10,000, largely for transportation and meals. Last year, the band attended the game at Elon.
“We have to decide which trips we can go to,” Ruff said. “There’s a lot of people, and it takes money to move the band.”
Ruff, who’s in his 12th year in the position and a former assistant principal and band director at Eastern Guilford High School, said there was a time when the band would attend all A&T games. Budget issues have surfaced, and he said the band also will miss the game against Florida A&M on Oct. 31 in Tallahassee, Fla. That trip would have cost about $50,000, Ruff said.
“We want to have a variety of educational experiences for my students,” he said.
Including color guard and dancers, about 200 students are on the field for a Blue & Gold Marching Machine performance. There’s also a large support staff.
The joint performance in Chapel Hill came after much planning, Ruff said. The A&T band practiced with the UNC-CH band earlier in the day, and the bands dined together in a university cafeteria.
By the end of the weekend, the performance had drawn widespread attention on social media. Days later, spectators who attended the game in Chapel Hill were remembering the halftime show more than the football action.
Even for a band that regularly receives attention and accolades, the latest appearance by the Blue & Gold Marching Machine produced rave reviews.
“I would say so,” Ruff said of the increased exposure. “We’re used to doing great performances, so that’s nothing new.”
From the Burlington Times-News (9/19/15): www.thetimesnews.com/article/20150917/NEWS/150918946
