Slippery Rock University’s marching band- the Marching Pride- won two awards during Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day Festival in Dublin, Ireland.
The band was named “Best Adult Band” and “Best Overall Band” following a two-mile long parade through the streets of Dublin in front of an estimated 500,000 spectators.
Eleven marching bands from three countries and eight states participated in the parade.
“Winning both awards was a surprise for sure, but I knew going into this appearance, with how much the students had worked and grown, that we had a shot,” said Jonathan Helmick, SRU assistant professor of music and director of bands. “(Winning these awards) really says something about the caliber of what is going on, not only in our program, but throughout the University. Magic can happen and for us, it happened live in front of a half million people.”
SRU’s marching band will go for an encore on Monday as they compete in the Limerick International Band Championship, which will feature more than 1,300 musicians from Ireland, Europe and the United States.
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