This year, for the first time, Bloomingdale High School’s Rajun’ Bull Band and Newsome High School’s Wolfpack Marching Band will play in tandem on the snare at the same time, as a combined unit. The feature will take place at halftime of the Bloomingdale-Newsome football game on Friday, August 23.
The Rhythm Rally festival is a fundraising crusade that will take place from now until Saturday, August 31. The organization that receives the maximum donations wins a trophy that will be presented through the director of the opposing organization and will have the right to boast during the year. The real winners, of course, are the systems of both organizations.
Newsome and Bloomingdale’s band administrators, John Davis and Jordan Fraze, respectively, hope the festival will create more opportunities to join forces and create a tighter band network within rival schools.
“Even though it’s a rivalry, the real winners here are both teams. Not only because we hope to meet or exceed our fundraising goals, but also because we’re doing it as a friendly festival and will use this occasion to bring any of our teams together,” Davis said.
“This friendly festival can bring communities together to help such a wonderful cause as music in our schools. What more wonderful way to unite communities than through music? Fraze said.
Together, the teams will have 265 scholars in the box (150 scholars from Bloomingdale and 115 scholars from Newsome). They will sign up for the organization and play a music band song titled “The Land of a Thousand Dances. “the Gebhardt Leadership Clinic, sponsored through the Hillsborough County High School Music Council, each June. Classic halftime drills (shows) will be presented after the football game.
Bloomingdale and Newsome would love the network and their participation in the Rhythm Rally contest. Donations go through a corporation called Pledge, which donates 100 percent of donations to programs. Pledge accepts all the electronic payment bureaucracy on the site to which users are directed after sending an SMS to 707070.
To Bloomingdale Band, text BULLSRALLY to 707070.
To Newsome Band, text NEWsomeBAND to 707070.
For information, contact Fraze at jordan. fraze@hcps. net or Davis at john. davis@hcps. net.