Barry Manilow Honors Brownsburg High School Band Director at Indy Show

On Friday night, a Brownsburg High School band director received the Manilow Music Teacher Award, which came with a $10,000 cash prize and a standing ovation during Barry Manilow’s Friday night performance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The award is part of the Manilow Music Project’s effort to honor high school teachers in cities along the artist’s summer tour. Up to 10 schools in each city along the tour were asked to submit nominees and vote for their favorite teacher.

John Marque, assistant orchestra director for the Brownsburg program and a teacher of percussion and music theory, received the honor, which included a $5,000 cash prize and $5,000 to purchase instruments for the program.

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“Thank you for your dedication to music, John, and to your students,” Manilow said onstage, adding that his experience in the high school band transformed him from an outsider to a musician.

“Music lessons are so much more (than a class),” he said. “Kids learn how to interact with other students, they become better students, they become better people. Music can change a kid’s life.”

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The Manilow Music Project was founded in response to budget cuts in school districts across the country that have hurt school band programs, according to its website. The organization offers instruments and grants, as well as merit- and need-based scholarships, and has distributed more than $10 million in instruments and funds to schools.

Brownsburg wasn’t the only Hoosier performing arts program to be recognized by a touring artist on Friday. At the Ruoff Music Center, Foreigner was joined onstage by a jazz choir from Northview High School in Brazil, Indiana, to perform their iconic hit, “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

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Contact IndyStar pop culture reporter Holly Hays at [email protected]. Follow her on X/Twitter: @hollyvhays.