High School Students Invited to March with WT Musicians at WT Band Day

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - Area high school musicians can march with The Sound of West Texas marching band at halftime of West Texas A&M University's first home game Aug. 27.

As part of WT Band Day, high schoolers will rehearse with the WT marching band before the game, then perform with the band in the stands and on the field at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium on WT's Canyon campus.

The WT Buffaloes will face off against the Western Colorado University Mountaineers at 7 p.m. Aug. 27. Tickets are available now.

Students will get a free T-shirt and enjoy pizza after halftime. To register, visit wtamuuw.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6YwX3GST27oAWKq.

"This is an open invitation to all high school band students," said Dr. B.J. Brooks, director of the School of Music and WT's Prairie Thunder Professor of Band. "We are excited to give these young musicians a taste of the college band experience and let them have fun playing with our talented musicians."

The Sound of West Texas marching band is a critical component of the newly named Prairie Thunder Band Program at WT. A $3 million gift announced Aug. 18 provides a scholarship endowment, program funds and two professorships in the School of Music in WT's Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities. The gift also established the Prairie Thunder Foundation Corporate Culture Experience program in the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business.

Founded in 1917, the WT marching band is considered the largest spirit organization on campus. It is open to any student, regardless of major. Students began rehearsing Aug. 14 for the 2026 football season.

This year's halftime show, "Prairie Thunder," will celebrate the spirit of the newly named Prairie Thunder Band Program, Brooks said.

"You'll hear the sounds of storms rolling in across the prairie or the sound of a herd of buffalo," Brooks said. "It's up to the listener to decide what it is."

Guard co-captains are Jazmyn McKeel, a senior music therapy major from Allen, and Regan Rath, a junior elementary education major from Canyon.

Backfield conductors are Colton Hackett, a sophomore music education major from Amarillo; Anika McNeely, a junior music education major from Hereford; and David Murillo, a sophomore music education major from Perryton.

Participation in marching band and other activities helps foster critical skills students will need to graduate and succeed, the University's key goal for its students.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 65 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 41 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and three doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

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