Grover Cleveland Middle School students won the fourth “Battle of the Bands” competition at Rutgers University, and they will now go to Rutgers-New Brunswick to play the university fight song during a football game.
The Rutgers fight song, “The Bells Must Ring,” was performed on film, and middle school bands from all throughout New Jersey were encouraged to submit it by university representatives. The Rutgers-New Brunswick Division of Enrollment Management and the university marching band collaborate to host the competition. Submissions were judged by organizers based on their technical proficiency, compelling stage presence, and pride in New Jersey’s premier university.
“My students and I are ecstatic about this opportunity and feel so honored to receive this distinction,” Grover Cleveland Middle School in Caldwell, New Jersey’s band director Lauren Chen said. “It is a pleasure to work with the young musicians in the Caldwell-West Caldwell Public Schools, and their victory in this competition is evidence of their dedication to attaining musical excellence and their hard work.”
Grover Cleveland Middle School band members will visit Rutgers–New Brunswick as the competition winners, joining the Rutgers marching band to perform the university’s fight song at a Scarlet Knights football game at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, at a later date. Tickets to the game will be given to band members and their chaperones.
Chen stated, “Without the steadfast support of our administration, staff, and families, this would not have been possible.” We express our gratitude to the Rutgers University Scarlet Marching Knights for organizing this event, which we believe will encourage our young musicians to pursue their musical passions throughout college.
The contest’s original idea was created by Rutgers-New Brunswick vice chancellor for enrollment management Courtney McAnuff as a means of fostering early connections between younger students and state universities.
“We are thrilled to offer middle school students this chance to interact in a distinctive manner with Rutgers–New Brunswick,” stated McAnuff.
“We at Rutgers University Bands are incredibly excited to congratulate the Grover Cleveland Middle School Band on their victory in this year’s ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition,” stated Todd Nichols, the director of university bands at Rutgers, who joined the university in 2017 after 19 years of leading high school bands.
Nichols continued, “We are excited about Grover Cleveland’s visit to our campus and their performance with our Rutgers University Marching Scarlet Knights.” It’s going to be an incredible performance.
Congratulations, champs!
