Area Student Selected to Perform with the Bands of America Honor Band in the 2013 Rose Parade®

Austin Tenbarge, a senior at William Henry Harrison High School, in Evansville, IN has been selected by Music for All to be a member of the Bands of America (BOA) Honor Band in the 2013 Tournament of Roses® Parade. Austin was selected from among hundreds of applicants across the nation for membership in this prestigious national honor band. Austin is the Son of Kenneth Tenbarge and Dr. David and Jami Carlson. HIS band director is Mr. Robert Cason.

The BOA Honor Band is a 325 piece national ensemble with winds, percussion and a flag and dance team. Bob Buckner, who recently retired as director of the Western Carolina University “Pride of the Mountains” Marching Band, will direct the 2013 BOA Honor Band. Bands of America is a program of Music for All (MFA), one of the nation’s largest and most influential organizations in support of active music making.

Austin Tenbarge a Alto Saxaphone player, will spend a week in southern California, where he will have rehearsals, performances at the Tournament of Roses Bandfest and Disneyland, special activities and a featured appearance in the world-famous parade. The 124th Rose Parade® presented by Honda themed “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” will take place on Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. (PST). The 5.5-mile parade (which is often referred to as the “Rose Bowl Parade”) will be broadcast on ABC, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, KTLA (Tribune), NBC, RFD-TV and Univision. The Parade is also seen in more than 220 international territories and countries. To learn more, visit the Broadcast Partners page available on the Tournament of Roses® website. Magnificent floral floats, spirited marching bands and talented equestrian units anchor the traditional, two-hour spectacle along Pasadena’s famed Colorado Boulevard.

“To be selected for this unique opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these students and a testimony to their excellence and achievements,” says Eric Martin, Music for All President and CEO. “Each student is one of only 325 members chosen to be part of the Bands of America Honor Band, and their participation deserves the admiration and support of everyone in their community. The Rose Parade® is one of our country’s national pageantry treasures, and the 2013 Honor Band members will be ambassadors of America’s bands, and of their states and communities.”

In addition to his role as director at Western Carolina University, Honor Band director Bob Buckner is also the recipient of the prestigious Sudler Trophy in 2009 from the John Philip Sousa Foundation as well as a Bands of America Hall of Fame member. His award-winning career as a band director and drill designer spans decades. The nationally-recognized teaching staff for the Honor Band includes award-winning band directors from Avon H.S., IN; Berkner H.S., TX; Etiwanda H.S., CA; James Bowie H.S, TX; Kennesaw Mountain H.S., GA; Marian Catholic H.S., IL; Nation Ford H.S., SC; Stephen F. Austin H.S., TX; University of Massachusetts; Western Carolina University; and the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps.

This will mark the third time Music for All’s Bands of America Honor Band has performed in the Tournament of Roses® Parade. The BOA Honor Band also performed in the Tournament of Roses® Parade in 2005 and in 2009, when it was a part of the President’s Award-winning entry created with NAMM and Sesame Street Workshop. Music for All sponsors and partners will play an important role in preparing the BOA Honor Band for their performances. Yamaha Corporation of America, MFA’s National Presenting Sponsor, will provide percussion and brass instruments. Fred J. Miller, Inc. (FJM) will outfit the members in custom uniforms designed by award-winning designer Michael Cesario, one of the nation’s leading pageantry visionaries. Music Travel Consultants, MFA’s Official Student Travel Partner, will manage the travel, housing and logistics for the band members and their families.

ABOUT MUSIC FOR ALL

Music for All (MFA) is one of the nation’s largest and most influential organizations in support of active music making. Since 1975, MFA, through its Bands of America and Orchestra America programs, has been a destination and set the standard for scholastic music ensemble performance and student and teacher education. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization, MFA uses its national profile programming to model, showcase, recognize and provide individual, teacher and organizational examples of music performance excellence and achievement. MFA’s programs include 20 annual events, including the Bands of America Grand National Championships and Regional Championships for marching band; the Music for All Summer Symposium camp for students and teachers; and the Music for All National Festival for concert bands, orchestras and percussion ensembles. Music for All’s programmatic model is designed to mirror and supplement the classroom and performance model adopted in most American scholastic settings. Music for All values and promotes societal recognition of music education and active music making as essential and core parts of every student’s educational development.

Music for All’s efforts are supported through sponsorships, including current partnerships with National Presenting Sponsor, Yamaha Corporation of America; Official Uniform Sponsor, Fred J. Miller, Inc.; Official Equipment Sponsor, Wenger Corporation; Official Student Travel Partner, Music Travel Consultants; Corporate Sponsor, Remo, Inc.; Strategic Advocacy Partner, NAMM; Associate Sponsors, Vic Firth, Inc., Denis Wick and SmartMusic®; and Program Sponsor, Center X Productions. Music for All is also supported by the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the City of Indianapolis, by the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission, the Ball Brothers Foundation, Chase Community Giving, LDI 100th Anniversary Celebration Cultural Partnerships Gift Program and by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.