WT Student Among Drum Corps Members to March in Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A West Texas A&M University student will get to march on his home field during a national tour with his acclaimed drum corps.

Jack Montgomery, a senior music education major from College Station and euphonium player in The Sound of West Texas Buffalo Marching Band, marches with the Boston Crusaders, who’ll headline an upcoming performance at WT’s Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.

Drum Corps International’s DCI West Texas, presented by Fruhauf Uniforms, will kick off at 8:20 p.m. July 16 in the stadium on WT’s campus in Canyon. Tickets are $29 to $39 for reserved seating, plus fees.

Gates open at 7 p.m., and the box office opens at 6 p.m.

The evening also will feature Arsenal from El Paso; Genesis from Austin; The Academy from Tempe, Arizona; and Pacific Crest from City of Industry, California.

Corps are traveling the country throughout the summer to perform in various competitions such as West Texas Drums. The season will culminate at the 2025 Drum Corps International World Championship Finals on Aug. 9 in Indianapolis.

Montgomery, who plans to graduate from WT in fall 2026, is marching for a fourth year with the Crusaders.

“This is the first time we’ve gone to the Canyon show, and I’m super pumped for it,” Montgomery said. “I’ve never really gotten a home show like other corps members because we’re based on the east coast. But Canyon is part of the west coast route, which we’re taking this year.”

Marching in the corps is setting Montgomery for later success as a band director — and continuing success in the Buffalo Marching Band.

“You learn a lot about yourself — things you can bring back to your school,” Montgomery said. “Everyone works together to create something beautiful on the field.”

This is the fifth year WT has hosted DCI West Texas, and audiences continue to grow, said Dr. B.J. Brooks, director of the School of Music in WT’s Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities.

DCI, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, features the world’s most elite and exclusive marching ensembles of student musicians and performers.

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key mission of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $165 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT, a Regional Research University, is redefining excellence 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, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WT—