Detroit, MI – August 24, 2011 – In 2001, a team led by Benjamin Pruitt assembled the first All City High School Marching Band. Almost immediately, the band was a success, earning a Rose Bowl bid. Over the next few years, budgetary issues overcame momentum and the band went into hibernation. Uniforms were mothballed, instruments re-distributed.
Now, with the help of a $560,000, five year grant from First Student Transportation, a commitment made by the Pickard Family Fund and gifts from additional individual donors, the Detroit Public Schools Foundation (DPSF) has been instrumental in bringing the band back to life with an initial investment for instruments and band start-up costs.