PHI BETA MU INTERNATIONAL
International Bandmasters Fraternity

The Lafayette High School Band, a proud tradition since the school’s inception in 1939, has maintained over 85 years of music excellence. The band consistently sets high standards in concert band performance, receiving distinguished ratings at Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) festivals. The Wind Symphony has been a featured guest-performing group at the KMEA Annual Conference multiple times, most recently in February 2024.  In 2014, the band was awarded the Sudler Flag of Honor by the John Philip Sousa Foundation, recognizing high school concert bands of musical excellence.

The concert bands have a rich history of participating in regional, national, and international events, such as:

• Band Clinic and Conductor’s Symposium at the University of South Carolina
• Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee
• Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC
• Midwest International Band Clinic in Chicago, Illinois in 1993 under Steven Moore

Lafayette boasts three concert bands: Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, and Concert Band, each taught as a full-year course. These ensembles present at least four annual concerts in various venues, including the University of Kentucky Singletary Center for the Arts. The program regularly sees high representation of students in District Honor Band, Kentucky All-State Band, and All-State Jazz Band.

During the fall semester, 240 student members participate in the Pride of the Bluegrass marching band. Since 1990, this band has won the KMEA State Champion title 23 times. The Lafayette Band has earned the Grand Champion title in over 80 state, regional, and national competitions in the last decade and is a two-time recipient of the Sudler Shield. The marching band has had the honor of escorting Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade twice and represented Kentucky in the 2013 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.