Marching Southerners

The Marching Southerners is the name for the marching band of Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Composed of students from all over the country, the Southerners and Marching Ballerinas perform for thousands each season.

History

The first band at the State Normal School in Jacksonville, Alabama was formed in 1928^{[citation needed]}. At that time, students only attended the school for two years and there was no full-time director, which hindered growth of the band in the early years. In 1930, the college was renamed Jacksonville State Teachers College, reflecting an increased role in higher education for the institution^{[citation needed]}. The Great Depression and World War II put development of the band on hold.

After the war, Walter A. Mason became head of the music department at the college. A veteran, he turned to fellow Army musician J. Eugene Duncan who he asked to become the band's first full-time director in 1948^{[citation needed]}.

Musical and Marching Style

John T. Finley took over the director position in 1951^{[citation needed]} and immediately made changes to the band's musical and visual style. Finley removed the sousaphones, cornets and small-bore trombones, and replaced them with trumpets and bass trombones: instruments more usually associated with orchestras. The most radical instrumental change was the adoption of the Conn 20-J upright recording bass as the band's lead tuba, and Jacksonville State remains the only university marching band to use this heavy concert tuba on the field^{[citation needed]}. Other musical changes included a departure from military-style marches in favor of slower, more dynamic, orchestral and symphonic, Broadway and Latin jazz pieces.

Visually, the band abandoned military-style block drill in favor of precision marching and wide-open company front formations: designed to achieve uniformity in step height and body carriage, whilst the company front formation helped to project the sound of the band. Finley also adopted a dance line as a visual focus instead of the majorette lines seen in more traditional marching bands, christened them the Marching Ballerinas.

Name

Norman Padgett, a trombone player in the band, suggested the name "The Southerners" for the band, and in the fall of 1956, the Southerners and Marching Ballerinas made their debut^{[citation needed]}.

Despite the commonly used name ("The Marching Southerners"), according to the JSU Manual of Style and Usage, Point 7, the official name of the band at Jacksonville State is simply "The Southerners": the "Marching" title only being applied to the Marching Ballerinas.

Directors

1948 J. Eugene Duncan

1951 John T. Finley

1959 John Knox (interim director)

1961 David L. Walters

1991 M. Scott McBride

1994 Kenneth G. Bodiford

2008 Kenneth G. Bodiford, Jeremy Stovall and Clint Gillespie

Notable Performances

1965 Inaugural parade for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson

1976 National Bicentennial Celebration Parade in Philadelphia, PA

1996 75th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, a segment of which appears in the background of an episode of Friends^[which?]

1999 B.O.A. Grand Nationals in Indianapolis

2002 B.O.A. Grand Nationals in Indianapolis

They perform regularly at the Bands of America contest in Atlanta

In 2006, the Marching Southerners celebrated their 50th anniversary with a performance, which included 1,500 former Southerners alumni, at the half time interval during a game against Samford University.

In 2012, The Southerners will play in the New Year's Day Parade in London, England which will also kick off the 2012 summer Olympics celebrations.^[1]

Related competitive units

The Marching Southerners do not engage in competition with other college bands^[why?], but Jacksonville State University sponsors several competitive marching and pageantry units that draw their membership in whole, or in part, from the marching band:

• JSU Center Stage winter guard, a member of Winter Guard International and the Southeastern Color Guard Circuit competing in the Independent Open class.
• JSU Diamond Girls, a dance team that competes throughout the Southeast.
• An indoor drumline that regularly competes in the marching percussion competition at Percussive Arts Society's annual convention (PASIC), which they won in 1999.

References

1. ^ Marching Southerners to visit London – Arts & Entertainment

External links

• The Marching Southerners
• Marching Southerners Forum
• Jacksonville State University
• Southerners Mellophone Line
• Southerners Trumpet Line
• Southerners Drumline
• The Marching Ballerinas
• The 20J's
• Hardcorps
• Diamond Girls competitive dance team