Five local schools will be represented at the Indiana State Fair Band Day on Friday, including the band with the most performances in the history of the contest — Anderson High School.
Director Richard Geisler said this is Anderson's 67th year competing. The band took two years off for the pandemic but returned to state fair Band Day last year, when the Marching Highlanders took fourth place with "Twisted Kilts."
This year's group will perform "Off-Kilter," which contains whimsical remixes of various classics, including Mozart's "Lacrimosa" and a salsa-style rendition of "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony."
Nearly seven decades of competition and 15 State Fair Band Day championships have resulted in a proud tradition for the Marching Highlanders. Such pride carries over to the students, who hold themselves to high standards of excellence, according to Geisler.
Frankton-Lapel will take the field Friday afternoon to perform "Perpetuum," a show about perpetual motion, according to Eric Bailey, who will co-direct the band alongside Toni Bays.
Bailey described the show as "high-energy," in motion from start to finish.
The Alexandria-Monroe band will perform "Metempsychosis," a show about death and rebirth, according to Director Elizabeth VanHook.
Daleville will combine with Cowan Jr./Sr. High School for a performance of "Into the Sky," about a young girl who becomes a pilot.
Elwood High School will perform their show "From Pressure," Friday morning.
Band Director Patty Simmons said the show revolves around creating diamonds under pressure.
Each of the five Madison County area bands will perform in preliminaries, beginning in the morning and ending after 4:30 p.m. The top 16 will be chosen to compete in the finals, which will begin at 8 p.m.
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.