SALEM, Va. (WDBJ) – Salem High School’s Marching Band is hosting the annual Summer Music Games, welcoming nine world-class corps to the field as part of Drum Corps International. The event is the school’s largest annual fundraiser for local music programs.
A major fundraiser for local music
Salem High School has hosted the event for nearly 30 years. Show Coordinator Richard Carr has been running the competition for 18 years and said the fundraiser brings in anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 for local music programs.
“This is our largest fundraiser for the Pride of Salem,” Carr said. “And this helps them take care of all of our high school kids. So I do it for the love of our high school kids, showing them where they can go musically in their careers, where it can take them.”
Carolina Crown among top corps in the nation
Drum Corps International brings together hundreds of performers who have spent the last two and a half months on the road practicing. Among the corps competing is Carolina Crown, currently ranked third in the nation.
Drum Major Carter Block said the corps’ standing comes down to consistency …every movement precise, every horn at the same angle.
“It’s unlike any other feeling I’ve ever had,” Block said. “Especially the horn line blasting your face off, they’re famous for being really loud and precise. So it fires me up. And the crowd … turning around, especially in bigger stadiums, and everyone was just on their feet.”
More than a competition
Assistant Band Director Thomas Graham said the event offers local students a look at what is possible through music.
“You have no idea what’s possible until you see it,” Graham said. “And it’s really cool to be able to see their eyes light up and for them to realize what’s possible through hard work and really good training.”
Seats are still available. The event begins at 7 p.m.
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