Ledford High School took top honors and the Lord Salisbury Cup at the third annual Lord Salisbury Marching Band Classic held Saturday on the campus of Catawba College.
Marching bands from Rowan and surrounding counties participated in the competition. The bands were categorized according to size division, smallest to largest (1A to 4A), according to the number of wind instruments in each.
Bands performed their marching shows in order to receive critiques, ratings and trophy awards from a professional judging staff in the areas of music execution, marching execution, general effect, drum major, percussion and color guard.
Each size division awarded a first-, second- or third-place trophy to bands based on their ratings and they were eligible for the Lord Salisbury Cup presented to the band with the highest overall rating for the day, regardless of class size.
Here is a breakdown of how each marching band performed during the competition:
Class 1A: First place, Zebulon Vance High School (superior rating), first place in all captions except drum major, class 1A-2A division award; second place, Salisbury High School (excellent rating), first-place drum major award.
Class 2A: First place, North Stanly High School (excellent rating), first place in all captions.
Class 3A: First place, North Rowan High School (superior rating), first place marching and music; second place, Jesse C. Carson High School (superior rating), first place drum major; third place, East Rowan High School (superior rating), first place general effect.
Class 4A: First place, Ledford High School (superior rating), first place, percussion and music, Grand Champion, Lord Salisbury Cup; second place, Piedmont High School (superior rating), first place in all captions except percussion and music; third place, Hickory Ridge High School (superior rating).
The Catawba College Chapter 1002 of the Collegiate Music Educators National Conference sponsored the competition.