Boone county recorder 092415 by Enquirer Media

B OONE COUNTY RECORDER

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

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BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS

Ryle band tournament marches on Amy Scalf ascalf@communitypress.com

UNION — Bands from across Kentucky and southeastern Ohio will march into Ryle High School’s Tournament of Bands on Saturday, Sept. 26. Officially sanctioned by the Kentucky Music Educators Association, Ryle’s Tournament of Bands will feature 14 high school marching bands at Borland Stadium at Ryle High School, 10379 U.S. 42. The tournament’s preliminary competition features performances by all bands beginning at 12:30 p.m. The top 10 bands will compete in finals beginning at 7 p.m. General admission tickets will be sold at the gate for $10 for those 12-54, $5 for those 55 and older, and free for children 11 and younger. “If you’ve never attended a marching band competition, you’ll be surprised by the level of artistic skill and pageantry,” said Tracy Fuchs, Ryle High School Band Boosters president. “Each band’s show tells a story using props, music and motion. It’s like taking a 10-minute Broadway show on the road.” Like Broadway shows, band tournaments have a certain etiquette. During each band’s performance, spectators are not to enter or leave the stadium, talk on cellphones, obstruct the view of others, allow children to play in the stands or make negative comments about bands or judges. Tournament proceeds will be used for the school’s music edu-

THANKS TO TRACY FUCHS

Ryle’s marching band will be among 14 competing at the Tournament of Bands Sept. 26.

cation program, instruments, professional guest clinicians, and an artist-in-residence program. Ryle Band Director Robert Elliott notes that these investments will contribute to the overall success of the school. “Schools who invest their resources throughout all the school grades by providing music education programs are making an investment into the quality of their high school graduates,” Elliott said.

“A national research study showed that schools that have music programs have significantly higher graduation rates than do those without music programs, 90.2 percent as compared to 72.9 percent.” The Ryle Marching Raiders will perform an exhibition of this year’s show “Something Wicked This Way Comes” prior to the trophy presentations. Elliott said the opportunity for bands to get “highly quali-

fied commentary on what they’re doing well and how they can improve” is immensely helpful for participating students and band directors. “I wanted to host a band competition that was first class in all respects by hiring a national panel of judges. Having prestigious judges has really influenced the number of bands who attend.” Judges from Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, South Caro-

lina and Kentucky will critique competitors at this year’s tournament. Elliott said the tournament is also just a really good show. “It’s a great day of musicmaking,” he said. “Besides, music education is as integral to the development of our kids as math, science and social studies.” Want to continue the conversation? Tweet @AmyScalfNky

NKU alums help others reach for the stars Amy Scalf ascalf@communitypress.com

THANKS TO NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Dr. Chari Ramkumar, lecturer in NKU’s Department of Physics, Geology and Engineering Technology, at left, and David Schneider test out a new telescope at the institution’s new Schneider Observatory.

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UNION — Julie and David Schneider wanted to give a gift to Northern Kentucky University and its future students to help them reach for the stars. The Schneiders are business owners, Union residents and Northern Kentucky University alumni who donated an astronomical research observatory to the school for student, faculty and community use. Before he graduated in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics, David Schneider studied astronomy at NKU. His professors had to carry all the telescopes outside and calibrate them before

students could begin their work. “Now, they don’t have to worry about anything. If it looks like great observing weather, they can go up there. One elevator ride and five minutes for the roof to retract, and they’re using the instruments. It’s pretty phenomenal,” he said. Located on the roof of Founders Hall, which at five stories is the tallest academic building on NKU’s Highland Heights campus, the 1,000-square-foot Schneider Observatory features a retractable roof and eight permanent telescopes. It was dedicated on Aug. 26. The rooftop is an ideal location for observing celestial bodies because it is 921 feet above

sea level – a tall building sitting on top of a hill. “It’s a marvelous site,” said Dr. Charles Hawkins, professor emeritus in NKU’s Department of Physics, Geology and Engineering Technology. “Pretty much any direction that you would want to look, you’ll see wide open sky.” Another benefit of the observatory is that it makes use of technology so that users can access telescopes on their computers, Schneider said. “There’s a room on the fifth floor for students and professors to do research through the computers, so if it’s cold, they can point the telescopes and do

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