KCKPS Marching Festival showcases district's rich tradition

*Wyandotte High School drum major Amari Clark opened his band’s set with a high-stepping dance routine.*

Five high school bands perform at Wyandotte High School celebration of music and culture

The Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools hosted its 2025 Marching Festival at Wyandotte High School, bringing together all five district high school marching bands for an afternoon of high-energy performances that highlighted the area’s strong marching band tradition.

Despite the gray clouds overheads, the brilliant purple, blue, red, crimson, gold, and silver of the uniforms dazzled against the green of the Wyandotte field.

Dr. James Oliver, the acclaimed director of the Alabama State University Marching Hornets, a historically black university (HBCU) in Montgomery, Ala., judged the event, providing feedback for all the bands to continue to improve.

J.C. Harmon High School’s Marching Hawks, directed by Weston Cook and led by drum major Ivayah Garcia Anthony, opened the program with the Star Spangled Banner, eschewing the common cymbal-driven standard for a more nuanced version with extended moving harmonies. After introduction of all the band leaders, the Hawks continued with their program that included “Sun,” “El Tiburon,” and “Apollo.”

F.L. Schlagle High School brought an ambitious program that incorporated its choir for a rendition of “Fly Like A Bird,” dedicated to Darryl Ammons Sr., beloved Schlagle teacher and longtime “voice of the Marching Stallions,” who passed away in July.

The number was part of the Stallions’ five-song set that also featured Mariah Carey songs, “Hero,” “Make It Happen,” and “I’m That Chick.” The band was directed by Katja Otto-Gentry and led by band president M. Foster and vice president Janiyah Richardson. The Golden Rush dance team was also featured, along with several Schlagle teachers and administrators joining in one of the dance numbers.

The Sumner Academy’s Marching Sabres delivered a precision performance under the direction of Mark Keltner, with drum majors Yaretzi Gaona, Alexis Salinas, and Lili Willard leading the band through selections “Gospel John” and “All of the Lights.” The Acadettes dance team performed with the band on Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison,” which had the older members of the crowd singing along, and the band and dancers had a lot of fun with Cameo’s “Talkin’ Out the Side of Your Neck.”

Washington High School entertained with a Michael Jackson tribute, performing “Rock With You,” “Get on the Floor,” and “Workin’ Day and Night.” Director Michael Harris’s Marching Wildcats also performed Bethune-Cookman University’s “Let’s Go Wildcats,” a nod to the HBCU tradition that runs deep in KCK schools’ marching bands. Drum majors Nadia Mondragon, Landon Hensley, and Walter Lewis IV led the band, and Mondragon led the Wildcats onto the field with a spirited high-step.

Wyandotte High School’s Marching Bulldogs, under the direction of Kevin Reliford with drum major Amari Clark, closed out the festival with their set featuring Tina Marie’s “Out on a Limb Fanfare,” “Burning Blue” by Mariah the Scientist, and Joel Corry’s “Lonely.” Clark’s kinetic steps to open the performance brought roars of encouragement from the packed stands, and Reliford’s hype-man narration kept the energy high throughout.

The Wyandotte Dancing Diamonds dance team performed with the band, including a stellar baton-twirling number by their majorette.

With the cloudy skies starting to open up on the bands as the Bulldogs finished with “Hype Me Up,” the festival wrapped up early, missing the march-in-review that traditionally closes the program.

Fun and tradition the key to participation

At the recent Silver City Parade in early October, Keltner explained Sumner’s success in maintaining strong band participation while some schools have struggled since the school closures in 2020.

“At Sumner, we have a lot of kids that do a lot of different activities, so just making it fun for them,” Keltner said. “If they’re having fun and if they’re learning, they come back.”

Joseph Straws III, who teaches and volunteers with Sumner’s drum line, brings a personal connection to the program. A Sumner alumnus who marched all four years of high school, Straws has taught in the district for nearly 30 years at Wyandotte, Schlagle, and now Sumner.

“I marched — started my career in drill team with Strangers Rest [Baptist Church] Touch of Class drill team on the streets back in the day,” Straws said. “And then I went all the way up through Sumner.”

Straws credited Keltner for the program’s recent success. “We have an amazing music director over there, Mr. Keltner. He’s an amazing guy. He has a really good program. The kids have really bought into it,” he said. “Loving the energy, they gravitate to the energy really. And we’re just trying to give them something to do and trying to make them sound good and make them look good. And they take that pride in themselves.”

HBCU Pipeline

Deandre Tatum, band director at Wyandotte High School, emphasized the importance of maintaining the district’s HBCU band tradition and pipeline.

“I think the best thing that we can do is continue to do what we’re doing now, having these battles and performances exposing the culture,” said Tatum after the Silver City Parade, where the Bulldogs marched in the parade, then had a “battle of the bands” with the other four schools in Emerson Park afterwards.

“That’s why I wore my shirt today. I’m alumni of University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. I also am an alumni of Wyandotte High School, so I wear these things to show the kids that it’s possible that they too can go off and get scholarships, go and achieve education, and have a good time doing it while playing their instruments.”

Wyandotte students also attended a band camp this summer at Southern University, another HBCU with a celebrated marching band program.

The KCKPS marching band tradition, most evidently with Wyandotte and Schlagle, reflects the broader legacy of HBCU marching bands, which have played a significant role in preserving and showcasing African-American musical traditions since the late 19th century. The energetic choreography, precise high-stepping routines, and popular music repertoires that make it a distinctive style have also been a big part of KCK’s marching band heritage.

The festival provided a platform for all five district high schools to demonstrate their skills and continue building the musical traditions that have made KCK bands a notable presence in the city’s cultural landscape.