Final Auditions for The Black Foxes will be held on June 11, 2011. Report time is 10:00 a.m. to the Memorial Student Center Ballroom on the campus of Prairie View A&M University. There is a $30 workshop that will include a catered lunch. Persons auditioning will not be allowed to leave the site of the audition for any reason. The workshop will involve the instruction of basic technique and a dance that auditionees will demonstrate for the judges in the afternoon. This will be a day long process, closed to everyone who is not auditioning. Auditionees will have a late afternoon break to call those persons who will be returning to the campus to pick them up. No special preparations are required; auditionees should report stretched out and look their absolute best in grooming and dance attire (remember, no long pants).
The very soul and spirit of every historically black university is conveyed through its marching band. From the deep, rich sounds of the tubas, the elegance of the majorettes down to the exuberant dance routines of the drum majors, black college life would not be the same without its bands. With that in mind, no marching band comes close to uplifting its fans like the
Drum Majors
Through its performances, the nationally regarded Marching Storm and their renowned, classy dance troupe, the “Black Foxes”, has had the privilege of sharing the spirit and culture of Prairie View to a wide range of audiences and venues. The band has participated in high profile events such as the inaugural parades of George W. Bush, Jr. as governor of Texas and President of the United States, Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif, the Battle of The Flowers Parade in San Antonio, Texas, the opening of Houston’s Reliant Stadium and a live nationally televised audience on CBS’s “The Early Show” in January 2001.
As a result of its past success, the Storm’s popularity stretches from coast to coast as they were selected through a nationwide vote to participate in the annual Honda Battle of the Bands for three consecutive years. During January of 2004, the Storm received a standing ovation from a capacity crowd for its performance in the Georgia Dome during the second annual Honda Battle of the Bands contest in
The Black Foxes
With all of the aforementioned achievements it could be easy for a band of this magnitude to rest on its laurels. However, the band has astonishingly been in existence for 80-plus years! The great success that the band has experienced can be attributed to its tremendous work ethic. For a monument to stand the test of time to the degree that the Marching Storm has, truly takes sacrifice, dedication, and extreme hard work. In addition to work ethic, a strong leader is also needed and that’s where former head band director George Edwards (1948-2009).
For 24 years, Edwards, commonly referred to as “Prof”, transformed the band from a small ensemble to a national icon known as the “Marching Storm.”
Since the passing of Prof. Edwards in May of 2009, Dr. William McQueen has taken the helm as Head Director of the Marching Storm. Under his leadership the Storm was honored to perform for the Houston Texans after Thanksgiving Day game at Reliant stadiun. Additionally, on January 31, 2010, the "Marching Storm" performed at the Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Georgia where the Strom dazzled the audiance with it exciting brand of precision and showmanship. It goes with saying that the Black Foxes under the creative eye of Dr. Margaret Sherrod did a magnificent performance that will be talked about for years to come.
The Bones N Los Angelis
The band staff assisting Dr. William McQueen include Prof. Larry Jones, (Director of Percussion), Prof. Nicholas Thomas, (woodwinds/arranger), Mr. Mark Gordon, (brass), and Dr. Margaret Sherrod (director of the Black Foxes).
Several of the Marching Storm’s prominent alumni include the likes of Terry Ellis (member of the Multi-Platinum recording group EnVogue), Virgin Records singing group IDEAL and Ricky LaFontaine of the Richard Smallwood Singers. In addition, the Storm also has several alumni directing award-winning high school bands across the state of
“Are you ready for The Storm?”
