The very talented Parris Island Marine Corps Band has received its very first EMMY Award nomination this past weekend. On Sunday, the announcement was made that the local band of musically-inclined Marines has been nominated for a Southeast EMMY Award.
The nomination came in the Musical Composition/Arrangement category, and the original piece “You Were There”, with the performance credited to Mark Pellon, Musical Director and Officer in Charge of the Parris Island Marine Band, and, of course, the rest of the band.
The arrangement was composed by Dr. Ornsby Rose, a former Marine musician and now the Music Director at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa.
“Yesterday evening, I found out that my team and I are officially Emmy Nominated,” Pellon said in a Monday post on his LinkedIn page.
“Sometimes leadership means going after something that seems unrealistic. You may feel like you’re the only one who believes in your vision at first. Be bold. Have courage. Endure and the rewards can change everything.”
The song was released last summer, and was dedicated as a tribute to those front line workers who kept the country going forward during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During the past year and a half of the pandemic many of you have become the front line workers, allowing our society to continue moving forward at great risk to yourself. Your day-to-day sacrifices allowed your Marines to continue training and preparing for the future battles that we must be ready for. Because of this selflessness, the Parris Island Marine Band has composed a tribute to those great Americans who kept us going forward during the pandemic,” the Marine Band said in a Facebook post when the song was introduced.
The Southeast EMMY Awards are one of 20 regional EMMYS that includes Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and the Asheville are in North Carolina.
No, there is no red carpet or superstar line up involved in these awards, but that doesn’t make them any less important to, or exciting for, those nominated.
The Southeast EMMY Awards are a division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and were founded in 1975. In addition to granting the Southeast EMMY Awards, the division awards scholarships, honors industry veterans at the Gold and Silver Circle Celebration, conducts National Student Production Awards of Excellence and also participates in judging Emmy entries at the regional and national levels
Congrats to all of the super-talented Marine members of the Parris Island Band for their nomination. We sure hope they bring home the Emmy.
Enjoy the video of the Emmy nominated “You Were There,” below…
Here is a link to the nomination, and to all of the 2022 Southeast Emmy Award nominees.
