UNC Charlotte Students to Perform with the CBDNA Intercollegiate Marching Band
Seven students in the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band will perform in the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Intercollegiate Marching Band on January 11. They will join nearly 1,500 performers from 200 bands in 45 states and Puerto Rico, all working together to produce a virtual college marching band show.
The Intercollegiate Marching Band will perform “End of Time” by Beyonce in a video that will premiere online on the Intercollegiate Marching Band YouTube channel in conjunction with the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Dr. Shayna Stahl, associate director of bands and director of athletic bands at UNC Charlotte, nominated members of the Pride of Niner Nation to participate. Drum majors Roderick Keys and Hayden Askea, clarinetist Hayley Owen, saxophonist Jimie Maley, trumpeter J’aimee Tatum, twirler Savannah Houser and Jessica Sellitti of the colorguard all learned the music and routine and then submitted individual videos, which have been combined to create the virtual performance. Announcer Pete Herrick, “The Voice of the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band,” is also participating.
“This year has presented many challenges for the arts, and as educators we needed to rethink how we could continue music during the pandemic,” Stahl said. “We are incredibly grateful to the College Band Directors National Association and their partners for creating a way for our students to participate in this historic performance and to be a part of the Intercollegiate Marching Band community. We are so proud of the students and staff that were nominated and thankful for their time and efforts they put into practicing the music/choreography and creating their own submission videos.”
To learn more about the Intercollegiate Marching Band, the musical arrangement, and the technology used to produce the virtual unified performance, see the CBDNA official press release.
The College Band Directors National Association is a grassroots organization that serves a wide variety of constituents from the conservatory wind ensemble to the athletic band to the small college band.
In February 2020, the UNC Charlotte Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Shawn Smith and Dr. Stahl, traveled to Natchitoches, Louisiana, to perform at the CBDNA Southern Division Conference. The Wind Ensemble was chosen to perform through a competitive audition process.
Pictured: Clarinetist Haley Owen, one of seven students who will participate in the Intercollegiate Marching Band.