A dozen high school marching bands will fill the Fox High School campus with melodies on Saturday (Sept. 28).
Fox High School will hold its eighth annual Music on the Meramec competition from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school’s athletic stadium, 751 Jeffco Blvd.
It costs $8 for adults (19 and older) and $5 for students (18 and younger) and seniors (55 and older) to attend. Children 6 and younger get in for free.
“Regardless if you are into the marching arts or if this is your first one, if you stop by, you will get hooked by the second or third band,” Fox High band director Tommy Perry said.
Schools will compete in three classes, and a grand champion will be named at the end of the competition. Fox High’s Marching Warriors are scheduled to close the show at 3 p.m. with an exhibition performance.
Windsor High School band students will perform at 12:45 p.m., and Seckman High students will play at 1:15 p.m.
“It is a big deal. It is a good fundraiser for us,” Perry said. “We open up the campus to upwards of 2,000 students, parents and school administrators from our district and other districts. It is a cool event that showcases our athletic facilities and our band parents and the support we have in the district for music. It is pretty awesome.”
Fox High will perform its marching band halftime show titled “Crazy,” which depicts a man’s descent into madness after he loses love.
Perry said he also looks forward to seeing students from the Fox C-6 School District’s other high school, Seckman, perform.
“You get to watch roughly 300 kids from the area putting the same effort toward something,” he said. “That is a highlight for me.”
Perry said parents involved in the band program will operate a concession stand, and merchandise will be sold during the show. He said the money collected during the day helps fund the band program.
“This helps fund things like props, kids going on trips or higher-end instruments that will last longer,” Perry said. “It is vital to the entire band program to keep us running for the year and keep our cost per kid down.