Plano East bands march to the beat of the same drummer

After the recent realignment of Plano schools, the crowd at the Plano East Cluster March-a-Thon at Kimbrough Stadium in Murphy was slightly smaller, but just as spirited as ever. All the bands and color guards that feed into Plano East Senior High were present, including Armstrong, Bowman, Murphy and Otto Middle Schools; Clark and Williams High Schools; and Plano East.

“This is a great event to give our students a look at the whole East Band program,” said Nick Seibert, Murphy Middle School band director. “One day soon, we hope they will all be musicians in our fantastic high school bands. We also like this fundraiser because it is 100% profit for our band programs.”

Students solicited pledges and donations based on the number of laps they marched around the quarter-mile track. After all the bands completed four laps, they combined to spell “EAST” in formation on the field. The fundraiser provides funds for performance contest entry fees, transportation to extra-curricular events and financial aid for students to pursue private music lessons.

Money and pledges were still coming in, but Seibert reported Murphy Middle School alone raised several thousand dollars last year from the March-a-Thon.

“We're proud to be among the nation's best band programs,” added Seibert, “Few places in the country enjoy the amount of support our band programs do from our school district and the community. We really enjoy teaching such great kids.”

All the East Cluster bands will meet again September 16 at Kimbrough Stadium for the Clark - Williams football game. They will combine to perform for the crowd.