by Julie Turner, Columbia Metropolitan
Twenty-two and a half inches per step. Eight steps per 5 yards. That’s the foundation for hundreds of marching band members day after day, week after week, and game after game. Here in Columbia, two of the largest and best known marching bands perform their magic on the state’s biggest conference stages, having both been featured on one of the nation’s largest stages — the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Distinction and Dedication
Brendan Johnson, Ed.D., whose experience began in Darlington as a middle school tuba player and continued at Bethune Cookman University, was named director of bands at Benedict College in the spring of 2025. Brendan brings a decade of transformative leadership from Darlington High School, where he served as director of bands. During his tenure, he grew the program from 75 to 225 members, making it one of the largest high school bands in South Carolina. He was selected for the Benedict role following an extensive nationwide search for elite musicians and conductors.
While this is still early in his first year, he knows the stakes are high for him as well as the nationally recognized Marching Tiger Band of Distinction. “Benedict is a very family-oriented school,” he says. “A lot of students who attend have parents who went here, or their parents were in the band.” Make no mistake about it, band is serious business at Benedict. “We are supporting the football team, and at our football games, no one leaves at halftime.”
Senior Devin Mingo, one of the three drum majors for the 2025-2026 season, leads the BC BOD during a victorious game against the Fayetteville State Broncos. Photography courtesy of Nate Salley, BC Tiger Football Photographer
While all students bring years of musical experience to the band, being performance ready calls for countless hours of practice and focus for the 140 group members. It also means learning 50 to 60 selections of music that will be played before, during, or after a game. Brendan says, “Historically Black College or university fans will remember the last piece the band played at the last show and do not mind telling me that we’re playing it again.”
That tenacious, crowd-pleasing mindset is one reason Benedict College was tapped by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade selection committee in 2022. While many bands have the opportunity to play in the holiday staple television event, only a handful can pull off the fundraising and logistics to make it possible.
Benedict vaulted over the often insurmountable challenges to send more than 180 band members, like drum majors Janarria Batemon and Trevon Gooden, to the Big Apple. There they enjoyed the parade performance plus quintessential New York City tour stops such as a harbor cruise around the Hudson River and a Broadway show. In addition, they performed live for the Today show.
While only a few days long, the experience was life altering. “It was an authentic New York experience,” says Trevon, a senior from Atlanta, Georgia.
Janarria looks back fondly on the trip’s performances as part of the rich experience of being a band member. “I was able to make a positive mark, enhance my musical and leadership abilities, and celebrate my love for being part of the band on one of the biggest stages in the world,” she says.
What’s more, such a trip tests leadership and musical skills built over years and seasons. “Being in the band has taught me how to become an outstanding citizen and how to be a better leader,” says Trevon. “I’m challenged to become a fast learner, and I continue to master that skill in all areas.”
Being on the national stage is equally rewarding for the school. With such a rigorous selection process, many schools apply and are denied multiple times. The Benedict College Marching Tiger Band of Distinction, however, ranks with larger Historically Black Colleges and Universities like Alabama A&M University and Hampton University as only the seventh HBCU to be part of the three-and-a-half-hour spectacle. To this day, Benedict has the distinction of being the only NCAA Division 2 school to participate in the parade.
Despite the history and acclaim, much of being a member of the band is about basics, says Brendan. “I tell the kids all the time that band is 20 percent band and 80 percent character. It’s a new episode every day.”
Benedict’s magnificent tuba section stands in formation during the Labor Day Classic, the first game of the 2025 season. Photography courtesy of Kevin Johnson, BC BOD Photographer
Featured Photo:To date, Benedict has the distinction of being the only NCAA Division 2 school to participate in the parade. Photography courtesy of Kevin Johnson, BC BOD Photographer
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