Old Independence Regional Museum Program “Strike Up the Band” by Monty Hill on Nov. 5th! (Posted by Ginger Smith)
Band Music as part of the Sports Scene
On Sunday, November 5, at 2 p.m. Old Independence Regional Museum will offer a program titled “Strike Up the Band.” Imagine two competitive sports teams ready for action. The crowd has gathered. What is needed to stir the onlookers’ emotions and allegiance? Strike up the band! An integral element of sports games involves the band, whether it is a lively march, a stirring half-time performance, a timeout interlude, or even a festive number to inspire and entertain the crowd before the team breaks the huddle.
Monty Hill
Marching, jazz and pep bands provide performances that match or exceed the contests on the field or court.
Monty Hill will be the featured program speaker. He was recruited as Director of Bands at Lyon College in 2015. Under his enthusiastic leadership a marching band, wind ensemble and jazz band were established. This is the first time in the college’s history that a comprehensive band program has existed at Lyon.
Hill will bring a few members of the college marching band to demonstrate what the Lyon Band does during performances. One of the instruments will be the Sousaphone! He will tell about the history and evolution of bands and also speak about the bands of the Power 5 conferences, including Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, Alabama, and Arkansas.
After Hill earned a bachelor’s of music education degree from Henderson State University, he taught in Arkansas public schools for 24 years. He then left to earn a master in music performance from New Mexico State University where he also served as Interim Director of Bands and Associate Director of Bands before coming to Lyon. He maintains an active schedule as a music clinician in Arkansas, Colorado, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and New Mexico.
As an accomplished clarinet player, Hill has also performed with Jim Nabors, Patti Page, and numerous other celebrities.
Bruce Johnston, museum program committee member, stated, “This year we are proud to have already presented 10 sports-related programs free to the public. All of them have been interesting and vital preludes to the museum’s December 16th Grand Opening of the Smithsonian Institution’s Hometown Teams: How Sports Shapes America traveling exhibit.”
The program will be free and open to the public. Normal museum hours are: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children. The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville.
Old Independence is a regional museum serving a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820’s Arkansas territory.
