Now, under the direction of Western Carolina University’s Bob Buckner (pictured at right), the spotlight will shine on some of the nation’s most accomplished high school musicians, too. 

Buckner, director of athletic bands for Western, has been invited by the MENC: The National Association for Music Education to help launch the first-ever, high-school All-American Marching Band and serve as show coordinator and director of the ensemble. Buckner, who was named to the Bands of America Hall of Fame in 2005 and won MENC’s highest award for music education in 2004,  said he is both pleased and daunted by the challenge.

MENC, which has received thousands of applications, will narrow the long list of All-American wannabes to 350 possibilities. Buckner, who has asked Matt Henley, assistant director of bands at WCU, to join him, said the staff will have only three days to screen audition tapes and pick the final 90 students, based on their musical talent and marching style.

He’s also got to create a story board for the band’s six-minute performance, oversee the arrangement and refine the music, oversee the choreography, and write the drill so that every one of about 1,100 counts, or moves, forms a picture. That means putting every one of the 90 performers and their instruments in place to look good and sound good together on the field for each note they play.

Finally, the staff and students will have just two-and-a-half days to rehearse before the big show, which is scheduled for January 2008.

Buckner, who’s been doing this kind of thing for many years, is not letting the pressure get to him.

“Every time I worry about the work, I start thinking about what it means for these kids to perform in an All-American Marching Band,” Buckner said. “This will be a tremendous opportunity for students who tend to like the physical activity, the pageantry, the joy of performing in big arenas before huge crowds. They’ll receive national attention; they get an all-expense-paid trip to the game and some extra incentives; and they’ll take home the satisfaction of having worked with the best. I don’t think there’s ever been anything quite like this.”

The deadline for applications from marching band students is Friday, April 6. For more information, go to www.menc.org/allamerica. For game information, go to http://www.usarmyallamericanbowl.com/ For information about Western’s Pride of the Mountain’s Marching Band, go to http://www.prideofthemountains.com/ or call Bob Buckner at (828) 227-7608.