Band of the Hour

Last updated
Band of the Hour
Band of the Hour performing pregame at 2008 Emerald Bowl 4.JPG
The Band of the Hour, the marching band of the University of Miami, performing at the 2008 Emerald Bowl in San Francisco
School University of Miami
Location Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.
Conference ACC
Founded1933
DirectorDr. Craig S. McKenzie
Assistant DirectorDr. Sheldon A. McLean
Members179
Fight song"Miami U"
Website bandofthehour.miami.edu

The Frost Band of the Hour, sometimes abbreviated as simply Band of the Hour, is the marching band at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

Contents

The band plays at all home Miami Hurricanes football games and selected away games. It also travels to post-season football bowl games in years that the football team plays at one. [1] The band's name originated during the 1946 Orange Bowl halftime show, when Henry Fillmore announced that the "Man of The Hour" march was being played by the "Band of the Hour". The band decided to keep the name. [2]

The band was founded in 1933 by Walter E. Shaeffer, who had served with the United States Marine Band as a musician and concertmaster. During the 1950s, composer Henry Fillmore became a major patron of the band. He provided funding for the construction of Henry Fillmore Band Hall, the band's home base. [2]

Fred McCall was director of bands from 1948 until 1971 when he became director emeritus. [3] William B. Russell was director of bands from 1972 to 1991. Michael Mann served as the band's director as well as associate director of bands from 1991 to 2000. In 1993, Gary D. Green took office. Michael B. Dressman was director of the Band of the Hour from 2000 to 2004. C. David Ragsdale served as interim director in 2004–2005. Phillip Clements was associate director of bands and director of the Band of the Hour until the summer of 2008 when Thomas Keck became director of the Band of the Hour and associate director of bands. [2] Charles Damon is the assistant director of programs. [4]

Under Keck's administration, the band began to focus on the music it played in the stands. Emphasis was placed on popular music since many home-grown members had come from high schools that followed the marching traditions of historically black colleges. In an attempt to play to South Florida's significant Hispanic culture, the band also began playing more Latin music both in the stands and during field shows.

Keck set a goal of increasing the band's size to 200, and the band has increased. In September 2009, band membership reached 179, due in part to bringing in members of the Florida International University's marching band, which was dissolved that year due to budget cuts, though FIU's band would again return in 2010. [5] The band also includes students from Miami Dade College and other schools. [6] In 2009, Mario Cruz set a record of playing with the band for 10 years. [7]

In Fall 2014, Jay Rees took over as the director of the Band of the Hour and director of athletic bands at the University of Miami. Under the direction of Professor Jay C. Rees, nationally recognized for his progressive approach and cutting-edge style, the Frost Band of the Hour became an ensemble of student members from all fields of study, performing challenging custom musical arrangements and contemporary, drum corps-style drill design. [8] Since 2014, the band has sought a new vision of professionalism and excellence. Some marching band shows performed under Rees include music from artists such as Daft Punk, Rihanna, and Gloria Estefan.

Since 1993, the Band of the Hour is supported by the Band of the Hour Association, an alumni group. The association maintains a hall of fame for the band. [9] Alumni also play or march with the band during homecoming football games. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Fillmore</span> American composer

Henry Fillmore was an American musician, composer, publisher, and bandleader, best known for his many marches and screamers, a few of which he wrote for the Band of the Hour at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Park, Florida</span> Neighborhood and Former CDP in Miami-Dade, Florida, United States

University Park is a neighborhood and former census-designated place (CDP) located in an unincorporated area of western Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It was merged into Westchester CDP for the 2020 U.S. Census. In 2010, the population was 26,995. It encompasses the Modesto A. Maidique Campus of Florida International University and the Fair Expo Center, and was the former name of the former's campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida International University</span> Public university in University Park, Florida, US

Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in University Park, Florida. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida and the eighth-largest public university in the United States by enrollment. FIU is a constituent part of the State University System of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Orange Bowl</span> Stadium in Florida, United States

The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of downtown Miami. The venue was considered a landmark and served as the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team from 1937 through 2007 and for the Miami Dolphins for the Dolphins' first 21 seasons, until Joe Robbie Stadium opened in nearby Miami Gardens in 1987. The stadium also was the temporary home for the FIU Golden Panthers for one year, in 2007, while its on-campus FIU Stadium underwent expansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Hurricanes football</span> University of Miami American football team

The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of collegiate football in the nation. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the five Power Five conferences in college football. The program began in 1926. Since then, it has since won five AP national championships in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butch Davis</span> American football player and coach (born 1951)

Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant college football coach at Oklahoma State University and the University of Miami before becoming the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was head coach of the University of Miami's Hurricanes football team from 1995 to 2000 and the NFL's Cleveland Browns from 2001 to 2004. Davis served as the head coach of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Tar Heels football team from 2007 until the summer of 2011, when a series of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) investigations resulted in his dismissal. He was hired by the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an advisor in February 2012.

WRGP is the student-run radio station of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. WRGP broadcasts on 88.1 MHz from a transmitter site in rural Miami-Dade County at 17107 SW 248 Street and from rebroadcasters on the two largest FIU campuses: W237CP (95.3 MHz) at the main Modesto A. Maidique Campus, where the station's studios are located in the Graham Center, and W245BF (96.9 MHz) on the Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami.

The FIU–Miami football brawl was a bench-clearing brawl that occurred on October 14, 2006, during a college football game between the University of Miami Hurricanes and the Florida International University Golden Panthers at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Cristobal</span> Cuban-American American football coach and former player

Mario Manuel Cristobal is the Cuban-American head football coach of the Miami Hurricanes football team at the University of Miami. Cristobal previously was the head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) from 2007 to 2012 and the University of Oregon from 2017 to 2021. He was an all-conference offensive tackle on the Miami Hurricanes football team that won national championships in 1989 and 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Hurricanes</span> Intercollegiate sports teams representing the University of Miami

The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U,UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the highest level of collegiate athletics. The University of Miami's football team has won five national championships and its baseball team has won four national championships. Across all sports, the Hurricanes have won 21 national championships and 83 individual national championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Atlantic Owls</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Florida Atlantic University

The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I as members of the American Athletic Conference. On October 21, 2021, Florida Atlantic accepted the invitation to join The American and became a full member on July 1, 2023.

Pedro Andres Garcia is a Cuban-born American sports administrator who was the athletic director for Florida International University since 2006. Previously, Garcia was director of football operations at the University of Miami, vice president of the Cleveland Browns, and associate athletic director at the University of Miami.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Florida</span>

The U.S. state of Florida has three National Football League teams, two Major League Baseball teams, two National Basketball Association teams, two National Hockey League teams, two Major League Soccer teams and 13 NCAA Division I college teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachian State University Marching Mountaineers</span> College marching band in Boone, North Carolina

The Marching Mountaineers, also known as North Carolina's Band of Distinction, is the 285 member marching band of Appalachian State University. Founded in 1933, the band performs at all home Mountaineer football games and travels to select away games each year. The Marching Mountaineers were a participant in the 2006 and 2014 London New Year's Day Parades. The Band of Distinction also marched in the 2011 Cabalgata de Reyes in Madrid, Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIU Panthers</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Florida International University

The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletics as members of Conference USA. The men's soccer and swimming & diving teams compete in the American Athletic Conference. Until 2011, they were known as the FIU Golden Panthers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIU Panthers football</span> Football team representing Florida International University

FIU Panthers football program represents Florida International University (FIU) in the sport of American football. The Panthers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Division of Conference USA (CUSA). The Panthers' head coach is Mike MacIntyre. FIU has produced a Sun Belt Conference co-championship team in 2010, along with 3 postseason bowl appearances. The Panthers play their home games at Pitbull Stadium which has a seating capacity of 20,000.

The Florida International University Alumni Association is an alumni organization for former students of Florida International University. It is governed by a 32-volunteer-member board of directors and currently has over 20,000 dues-paying members made up of alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of FIU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 FIU Panthers football team</span> American college football season

The 2017 FIU Panthers football team represented Florida International University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers played their home games at the Riccardo Silva Stadium in Miami, Florida as members of the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Butch Davis. The Panthers finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in second place in the East Division. They received an invitation to the Gasparilla Bowl where they lost to Temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIU Stadium</span> Stadium in Miami, Florida, U.S.

Pitbull Stadium is a college football and soccer stadium on the campus of Florida International University (FIU) in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida with a Miami mailing address. It is the home stadium of the FIU Panthers football team and the Miami FC soccer team from the USL Championship. The stadium opened in 1995 and has a seating capacity of 20,000.

J. William “Bill” Hipp is an American music educator and administrator. He served as the fourth dean of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami from 1983 to 2007. He served as the president of the National Association of Schools of Music from 1998 to 2000 and was inducted into the Florida Music Education Association Hall of Fame in 2002.

References

  1. ↑ "Frost Band of the Hour". University of Miami. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  2. 1 2 3 "History of the "Band of the Hour"". University of Miami. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  3. ↑ Crittenden, John (December 25, 1965). "Band Always Wins - Well Almost". The Miami News. p. 29. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  4. ↑ "The Band of the Hour Staff". University of Miami. Archived from the original on 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  5. ↑ Communications, Florida International University-Digital. "About Us". bands.fiu.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  6. ↑ Fishman, Ed (September 2, 2009). "Band Of The Hour membership skyrockets". Miami Hurricane. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  7. ↑ Fishman, Ed (September 17, 2009). "Cruz completes 10 years on the field". Miami Hurricane. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  8. ↑ "Band of the Hour | University of Miami Marching Band". Frost Band of the Hour | University of Miami. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  9. ↑ "Band of the Hour Association - Hall of Fame". University of Miami. Archived from the original on 2011-03-17. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  10. ↑ "The Band of the Hour Association of Alumni and Friends, Inc". The Band of the Hour Association. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.