Pride Of Oklahoma Dazzles Many
The Tiger Band kicked off the evening with a performance in front of The Pride of Oklahoma and fans.
The stands at the Warsaw Community High School Fisher Field were filled tonight with music lovers from near and far. At 7:30 p.m., members of the WCHS Tiger Pride band filled the field to perform musical stylings alongside the color guard. Following their performance, 300 band members from one the country’s Big 12 collegiate bands and recipient of the Sudler Trophy, an award recognizing one the band as one of the top programs in the country, filed onto the field.
The Pride of Oklahoma, from The University of Oklahoma, began their show with pep songs and followed with an elaborate medley honoring the 25th anniversary of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Phantom Of The Opera. The band featured a baton twirler, a masked phantom that roamed the rows of musicians and a color guard.
John Elliott of First Source Bank has been working on this endeavor for almost a year, if not longer (see related). This is the fifth time a nationally known band has been brought to the community through anonymous backers and the assistance of Elliott.
The band’s visit came on the eve of their visit to the Oklahoma v. Notre Dame football game. Their arrival into Warsaw included a police escort from South Bend Regional Airport to the Warsaw Wyndham, where they are residing and will be provided with area “goodie bags”. The band was treated to a dinner organized and hosted by the Warsaw Area Career Center. The culinary students were able to implement their skills as well as fundraise.
Following breakfast on Saturday the band will be escorted back to South Bend in preparation for the 3:30 p.m. Oklahoma v. ND game.
Other bands that have visited the area have been the U.S. Marine Band on two occasions and the Ohio State and Penn State bands.
