Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, November 1, 2010

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School’s marching band captured the 5A state title Oct. 30 at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville. Lafayette High, the defending champion, was the runner-up.

These two schools have owned the Kentucky Music Educators Association’s marching band contests since 1990, with Lafayette winning 16 titles and Dunbar six now. 

“It was a great season for us. Our kids worked extremely hard,” said Jeff Hood, Dunbar’s band director since 1998. “Chuck Smith, the band director at Lafayette, was the first person to come congratulate me. I told him, ‘Thanks to you and your band for making us work so hard.’”  

Dunbar will compete this weekend in the Bands of America Regional Championships in Indianapolis, while Lafayette will travel there in two weeks for the Bands of America Grand National Championships. 

“It’s really something to have two bands of national-level caliber in the same town. It says a lot for music education in Fayette County,” Hood said.

Dunbar and Lafayette were among 80 bands in the KMEA state semifinals, including Henry Clay High. Twenty bands – four in each class – made the cut for the finals. 

Bands are divided into classes 1A through 5A based on high school enrollment. They are judged on musical performance, visual performance and general effect – everything from individual posture and spacing to intonation and overall sound.

Saturday evening’s contests saw a focused Dunbar group determined to deliver a strong performance. In the end, the Bulldogs earned the top trophy for the first time since 2007.