Dear Colleagues,

I would like to invite you to the 17th annual Heart of America Marching Festival sponsored by the University of Kansas Band and the Northeast District KMEA. The contest date is Saturday, October 4, 2008 and the deadline for entries is Friday, September 19, 2008.

The staff and students at the University of Kansas are committed to making this the most accessible, organized, and enjoyable contest for your group, as well as a useful and rewarding educational experience. We will be utilizing some of the best adjudicators available from across the nation, giving your group superb feedback and insight into your performance. In addition, our caption scoring system allows a consistent and realistic evaluation of your marching, music, general effect, percussion, and colorguard/auxiliary.

All groups will be placed in a class according to the number of wind players performing. The top 10 scoring groups from the preliminary competition will proceed to the evening's finals competition (bands that do not rank in the top 10 but are best in their respective class will also have the opportunity to perform in exhibition prior to the finals). Bands may also elect to perform for comments only, or choose to perform for preliminary competition only.

Trophies and/or plaques will be awarded for the following:

1st Division Rating

Division Champion

Finals 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th places

Finalist (5th through 10th place)

Outstanding Music, Marching, GE, Percussion, Color Guard/Auxiliary, Drum Major

Please feel free to contact me any time with questions or comments at (785) 864-3367 or e-mail me at dclemmer@ku.edu. Please take time to complete the online entry form and submit payment as soon as possible as we will only be accepting the first 28 bands.

We're looking forward to seeing you at the Heart of America Marching Festival in 2008!

Sincerely,

David Clemmer
Director of Athletic Bands
University of Kansas