Southwestern College will host “The Mound of Sound Marching Festival” on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 10 a.m., inside Richard L. Jantz Stadium.  The event is open to the public and there is no admission charge.

The event is approved by the Kansas State High School Activities Association and the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.  So far, high school marching bands from Winfield, Arkansas City, Liberal, Ponca City, Okla., Central of Burden, Dexter, Udall, and Riverton have signed up to perform.

The bands will perform for a panel of judges in a friendly and supportive environment, according to Jeremy Kirk, assistant professor of music at Southwestern College and the coordinator for “The Mound of Sound.”

“It is a good way to provide some of the local schools with a festival that they can attend where they will receive feedback from judges.  It is also friendly-competitive, and we will give out awards for grand champion, second place, and third place.  They all will get rated and will receive that feedback, which is so vital.”

Kirk is no stranger to putting these festivals together.    

“I hosted these events at Coffeyville Community College and at Marshall University in the Tri-State Festival which is one of the biggest marching competitions on the East coast,” Kirk says.  “It is great for these schools as it’s a great educational experience.  It is competitive in a friendly way.  I have six judges coming who will judge in the areas of music performance, visual performance, general affect, color guard, percussion, and drum major.  Some of the judges are nationally known.”  

According to Kirk, each band has a chance to win whether they are big or small.  

“The way I have done the score sheets, it’s based on their performance, not how many are in the band,” Kirk says.  “A group might have 20 kids but if they sound really tight and their fundamentals are great, they can score just as high or higher than the 150-piece bands.  The way the scoring system is, everyone has a fair shot.”

The event will begin at 10 a.m.  The schedule includes: Central of Burden, 10 a.m.; Udall, 10:20; Dexter, 10:40; Winfield, 11; Riverton, 11:20; Ponca City, 11:40; Arkansas City, 12; Liberal 12:20; and the awards presentation at 12:40.