Alfred Davis
Ready to Strike up the FSU Band
A
s the new marching band director at Fayetteville State University (FSU) Alfred L. Davis has set some goals for the Fayetteville State University Marching Band. The goals are indeed lofty, but if anyone can achieve what they have set out to do Davis can. After all, his record speaks for itself. Here is just a sampling of what Davis has achieved: From 2004-2009, Davis served as an assistant professor of music and Director of University Bands at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. Known as “The Marching Force,” the Hampton University Band has earned a reputation as one of the best HBCU bands in the country. He has led The Marching Force in performances at the annual Battle of the Bay Classic versus Norfolk State; the 2004 Original Battle of the Bands in Washington, D.C.; the Whitney Young Classic in New York; the 2005 Detroit Football Classic in Detroit, MI; the
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2006 MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Birmingham, AL; the 2008 MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Orlando, FL; and the annual HBCU Battlefest in Norfolk, VA. High school and college bands throughout the United States have played his marching band arrangements.
These are great achievements and Davis wants to take FSU’s marching band to similar heights or even greater. “I want to establish the Marching Bronco Express as the premier student organization on FSU’s campus,” Davis said. “I want to make the FSU Band Program one of the best in the nation among HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities). Davis also wants to increase the program’s enrollment to 200 members. He said he envisions a band with 128 to 160 instruments, 16 flags, 12 dancers, and 10 to 12 student managers. He also envisions a thriving touring symphonic