The Marching Blazers will perform three new halftime shows this season at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The 240-member-strong band, in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music, will rehearse the shows during band camp in late August.
Show One, a tribute to the Alabama Bicentennial celebration, can be seen at the first three UAB Football home games. The Alabama Bicentennial show will feature songs from musical groups with ties to Alabama, including St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Alabama Shakes, and Sam Hunt.
Show Two will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Marching Blazers and will be performed at the Homecoming game, UAB vs. Old Dominion University, on Saturday, Oct. 19, featuring the Marching Blazers Alumni Band. The band will perform the same music the original band did during the 1994 season, says Marching Blazers Director Sean Murray, Ph.D. All former Marching Blazers are invited to help celebrate this occasion by performing with the 2019 Marching Blazers during the halftime performance.
“We are hoping to have a large alumni band turnout,” Murray said. The cost to participate is $20, which covers a ticket to the game and a Marching Blazers Alumni Band T-shirt. The deadline to register is Oct. 14. Registration for that event is available online at uabbands.org.
Show Three is called “Piano Men” and will feature music by Elton John and Billy Joel.
Students and faculty in the UAB Department of Music are excited about this season and the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Marching Blazers, says Chair Patrick Evans, D.M.
“We look forward to celebrating it with many alumni of the band playing arrangements from that 1994 season at the Homecoming game, in addition to two other exciting new shows this season, our third with our outstanding director of bands, Dr. Sean Murray,” Evans said.