Band of Gold carries on rich championship tradition

Andrew Rexford, a member of the 2012 Band of Gold, plays the xylophone during the halftime show during Gulf Coast’s first home game Thursday, September 13.

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Band of Gold is paying homage to Latin American music with its halftime show this year, “Ritmo de las Noches.” The performance includes movement and music from Bolero, La Danza Pasilla, En Fuego and Malaga.

The band does not only perform at football games but also offers spirited musical offerings at basketball games and participation in many other local and college-affiliated events. Host of the annual Gold Medal Classic that attracts high school bands from all over Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana each fall, the band has a rich tradition of community service on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and a commitment to providing instructional excellence in music education for Gulf Coast students. Its 170 members, including the flag corps, participate in marching and concert bands as well as several ensembles, including a jazz band and brass and woodwind ensembles.

A newcomer to the Band of Gold ensembles, Gulf Coast Independent, is an indoor drum line. Gulf Coast Independent is comprised of students from the Perkinston and Jefferson Davis campuses, and this past year, won top regional awards at Winter Guard International (WGI) Regional Championships in Hattiesburg and Bowling Green, Ky., which qualified them to attend WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio.

An integral part of the Band of Gold, the Perkettes have performed their way through Gulf Coast athletic events since 1952. Sixty years later, the elite dance group is still going strong, and a must-see fixture at Gulf Coast football games.

Band director, Dell Trotter, said that there are 30 music majors in this year’s band. “That means that we are attracting students who want to further their study of music education at Gulf Coast because they recognize this as an excellent program. I am excited about it because one of my primary goals when I came to the college was to train a new generation of quality band directors for the state of Mississippi.”

Trotter, director of bands, and assistant band directors Heather Spicer and Sean Keady lead the band. Stacy Fore leads the Perkettes dance line.