Western Carolina University, one of the 16 senior institutions of the University of North Carolina system, enrolls more than 9,400 students in undergraduate and graduate programs of study. WCU is located about 50 miles west of Asheville, N.C., near Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The Western Carolina University Pride of the Mountains Marching Band was selected to participate in the internationally televised 2011 Rose Parade, which begins at 8 a.m. PST on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011, in Pasadena, Calif. The nearly 400-member band tagged as the “world’s largest funk-rock band” was the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Sudler Trophy, the nation’s highest and most-coveted award for college and university marching bands.
The band will appear 49th in the internationally televised Rose Parade, which begins at 8 a.m. PST on Jan. 1, 2011, and can be seen live on ABC, NBC, HGTV, Tribune, Univision, Telemundo, Travel Channel, Discovery HD Theater or Sky Link TV.
The band also will perform last in the Tournament of Roses Bandfest show (Bandfest Show #2) on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 30. The show can be watched online via a webcast, which can be purchased for $8.50 at the Tournament of Roses Bandfest website. A portion of the proceeds benefit the band.
Mark Haskett, Western Carolina University photographer, and Teresa Killian Tate with the WCU Office of News Services helped capture the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band's experience in the Rose Parade for roseparade.wcu.edu.
Visit and return often to roseparade.wcu.edu to enjoy:
- Photographs of band members throughout the trip – as well as historic photos of the band from over the years.
- Videos made by band members, showing the trip through their eyes.
- Profiles of band members and what it took for some to prepare for the Rose Parade.
- Information about how to watch the band’s performance live on the Web at Bandfest by purchasing a webcast for $8.50.
- Stories of how the members of the Pride raised thousands of dollars to be able to make the trip, and how you can still help support the “Pride to Pasadena” effort.
- Information about how and when to watch the parade live.
- Features about the band’s directors and information about the band and how it grew and evolved into the 2009 winner of the Sudler Trophy, the “Heisman Trophy” of collegiate marching bands.
- Comments from friends, fans and supporters of the band.
For more information, visit these websites:
Pride of the Mountains Marching Band
Slide #8 tells the whole story of the Pride of the Mountains performance in this parade. It's one thing to…
soooooooooooo pround of you all Go WCU
I hope when the Spring semester starts students will go out of their way to congratulate any band member they…
Even though I am a MOUNTAINEER through and through, I am so happy and proud of the CATAMOUNTS for their…
Congrats to Bob Buckner and the WCU Band. It's been a LONG time since I was in Buckner's band in…