DALLAS, Jan. 3, 2009 — High School bands from Kansas and Iowa took home top honors at the three-day National AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Music Festival and Pageantry held Dec. 31, 2008 through Jan. 2, 2009, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Bands participated in concert band, field show and parade competition while performing before tens of thousands of people at the Comerica Bank New Year’s Parade and nationally televised pre-game and halftime pageantry performances at the 73rd AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. Junction City High School from Junction City, Kan. and Sheldon High School from Sheldon, Iowa beat out six other high school marching bands to claim their respective Grand Champion and Outstanding Auxiliary prizes.

On December 31, Junction City High School from Junction City, Kan., won the Field Show Grand Championship and Outstanding Auxiliary, while Sheldon High School from Sheldon, Iowa, captured top honors in Concert Band competition at the National AT&T Cotton Bowl Music Festival in Addison, Texas.

On New Year’s Day, all bands marched and competed in the 2009 Comerica Bank New Year’s Parade in downtown Dallas before an estimated 150,000 spectators and an even larger television audience. Sheldon High School claimed Parade Grand Champion and Outstanding Auxiliary honors.

On Jan. 2, 2009, band members performed before the largest crowd in Cotton Bowl history (88,000+) and a national television audience in the millions as part of the pre-game and halftime pageantry at the final AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic played in historic Cotton Bowl Stadium.

“We congratulate each of the bands for representing their communities so well at the National AT&T Cotton Bowl Music Festival,” said Mark Keiffer, president, AT&T mobililty and consumer centers sales and service. “Great bands, beautiful weather and record crowds combined to make this a festival to remember.”

The participating bands included:

• Campus High School from Haysville, Kan. under the direction of Becky Hughes
• Cornerstone Christian School from San Antonio, Texas under the direction of Rick Tang
• Junction City High School from Junction City, Kan. under the direction of T.J. Taylor
• Pulaski Academy from Little Rock, Ark. under the direction of Bart Harrison
• Raytown High School from Raytown, Mo. under the direction of Joe Hill
• Sahuarita High School from Sahuarita, Ariz. under the direction of Christine Garcia
• Sheldon High School from Sheldon, Iowa under the direction of Cliff St. Clair and Adam Orban
• Wright City High School from Wright City, Mo. under the direction of William Schaffer

The Music Festival and Pageantry were under the direction of National Events from Sandy, Utah and Showtime International from Lago Vista, Texas.

The AT&T Cotton Bowl Music Festival is one of several events developed by AT&T and the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association to extend the legacy of the Classic beyond the Jan. 2 football game. Other activities include the AT&T Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame, AT&T Cotton Bowl Art Contest and support for the Scovell Scholarship Foundation. Click for a list of AT&T Cotton Bowl Music Festival trophy winners. About AT&T
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