Tim Yao, a rising senior at Thousand Oaks (California) High School, will be drum major for the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band (USAAAMB). Yao’s selection was announced August 14 at the Drum Corps International finals in Indianapolis, Indiana. Yao’s music teacher is Anthony Martone.
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is the premier high school football game in the nation. Produced by All American Games, the Bowl features the nation’s top high school senior football players and marching musicians.
After the announcement, Jaclyn Turner, the 2010 drum major, passed the drum major shako to Yao, though she laughingly clung to it for a moment before handing it over during a brief ceremony. Turner’s high school teacher was Martin Dickey of Nation Ford High School, Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Drum majors Tim Yao and Jaclyn Turner joke during the USAAAMB shako ceremony.
Photo by Steve Turner.
Yao was the first musician announced for the 2011 band. His teacher is Anthony Martone. The selection tour for the remaining USAAAMB musicians will begin in September and continues into December.
Students selected as one of the 125 All-American Marching Band members will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to San Antonio, Texas, to march in the halftime performance of the All-American Bowl on January 8, 2011 at the Alamodome.
Music educators can nominate outstanding junior band musicians for the 2012 USAAAMB. Students nominated must:
* Be a high school senior in the 2011-2012 school year.
* Exhibit exceptional musicianship, marching achievement, character, and leadership.
* Be nominated before January 17, 2011 during their junior year.
* Be a member in good standing of their high school, and marching band programs.
2012 USAAAMB Nomination Form [disabled]
Visit MENC’s Band Forum to share and discuss in the new school year.
—Roz Fehr, August 19, 2010 © MENC: The National Association for Music Education
