The Cornell University Big Red Marching Band | |
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School | Cornell University |
Location | Ithaca, NY |
Conference | Ivy League |
Founded | 1890s |
Members | roughly 250 |
Fight song | "Give My Regards to Davy" |
Motto | "The Only REAL Marching Band in the Ivy League" |
Website | Big Red Bands |
The Cornell Big Red Marching Band is the only corps style marching band (as opposed to a scatter band) in the Ivy League. [1] It performs at all home, and most away, Cornell Big Red football games. In addition, the band has performed at halftime for numerous National Football League [2] and Canadian Football League [3] games, and began a tradition of an annual Spring Concert in 2006. [4]
The band was first formed in the 1890s as a part of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. [5]
The band remained under ROTC jurisdiction until 1948, at which time the band became affiliated with the Cornell Concert Band and the Cornell Repertory Band under the name Cornell Bands. After the BRMB left its military roots, it continued to evolve. Instrumental figures in overseeing these changes included William Campbell, the Director of Bands from 1947 to 1965, and Henry Romersa, assistant director and Drillmaster. [6] Also crucial in these "silver age" bands was Nick Krukovsky '65, who for many years was the band's official cameraman/movie editor.
These changes would significantly alter the face of the band almost as much as its split from ROTC. With the admittance of women beginning in 1970, the BRMB became an increasingly social organization.
In previous years, the band aspired to be a Big Ten type marching band. However, during the early 1970s the band revolted against the strict disciplinary style of conventional marching bands and almost succumbed to campus pressure to become a scatter band like the other Ivy League bands. In 1971, the marching band became quite similar to the scatter bands in appearance, with the drum major wearing either a blazer or a dinner jacket. However, the band eventually returned to its traditional roots, and in 1978, the traditional drum major uniform returned for good. Rather than the high-stepping Big Ten style of marching, the band now uses a modern "corps-style" marching technique (similar to Southeastern Conference marching bands) during performances.
The Band continued its tradition of entertaining shows and musical excellence. In 1971, the Band welcomed the talents of new Assistant Director Greg Pearson. He had a definite vision for the band's musicality, from his arrangement of pre-game and halftime shows, to his decision to switch the band to the crescent (home team) side of Schoellkopf Field. While this moved the band away from the student section, it allowed the band to sound better with the concrete background and height offered by the crescent.
In 1982 the Big Red Bands Alumni Association was established. [7] The BRBAA was founded as a way to maintain the financial and long-term security of the Band. Since then, the BRBAA has become one of the most active alumni groups at Cornell. During this time, band advisor Georgian Leonard spearheaded the first annual phonathon.
With the retirement of Professor Stith, [8] Scott Jeneary came aboard as Big Red Band Music Director in 1989, [9] and the position was later restructured and renamed Music Advisor. David Conn served as music advisor from the late 90s through 2004, succeeded by James Miller through 2006 and then Erin Otto. [10] The position of music advisor is now typically occupied by a graduate student from Ithaca College. The band claims to be the largest student-run group in the Ivy League. Students handle nearly all responsibilities handled by directors with other marching bands, including managing budgets and charting drills.
For over a century, the Big Red Band was housed in a cramped room in Barton Hall. [11] In 2013 the Fischell Band Center, a purpose-built home for the band, was completed adjacent to Schoellkopf Crescent on Kite Hill. [12] The building is a three-story glass structure with slanted walls and ceilings for superior acoustics. [11] It also includes display cases for memorabilia, photos, and uniforms. [11]
Prior to 1927, band uniforms consisted of "not quite white" hats, "not quite white" sweaters and "not quite white" duck trousers. [13] New uniforms in bright red, with white belts and black and gold helmets were ordered that year by ROTC commandant Col. Joseph Beacham '97, at a cost of $2,500. [13] A formal ball in Barton Hall was held to raise money for the new uniforms. [13]
Prior to 2021, the uniform consisted of black pants with red vertical stripe, red coat with "Cornell" emblazoned on the front, black shoes, black gloves, white combination cap with a red "C".
The band debuted an all-new uniform design in September 2021 at the Homecoming game against VMI. [14] The uniform keeps the black pants and red coat, and incorporates a black-and-white left sleeve with the word CORNELL in red. The new uniform also features the university seal on the upper right chest area.
As originally performed, the aardvark was executed upright with the hands wiggling next to the ears. It has since evolved into a display during which the aardvarker, suspended from a railing, ladder, or other fixed object, warbles a series of shrill, upper register pitches as he bends his spine backward and shakes his arms wildly. [15] No one is certain why this traditional exhibition was named after the burrowing, insectivorous mammal native to South Africa.
In 1947, as a result of an unfortunate incident which occurred during a gridiron encounter, the marching band started the tradition of a post game concert. In this particular game, a top-notch sophomore quarterback named Pete Dorset completed an amazing ten out of ten passes to lead Cornell to an upset 28–21 victory over Princeton at Palmer Stadium. [16]
After the game, the jubilant members of the Big Red Band commenced to file out with the crowd as usual, but were beset by hecklers. Soon the band found itself involved in a small-scale riot. One Tigertown student snatched a trumpet; another attempted to wrest a tuba from its owner. Things quieted down quickly and the incident was soon forgotten. The next time the Big Red Band appeared at Princeton, it remained for an impromptu concert until the main body of spectators had filed out. The concert proved such a success that it was made a regular part of the band's schedule.
At the end of each winning football game, band members turn each other's hats around 180 degrees. They remain backwards until removed at the end of the performing day.
Each Homecoming weekend, Big Red Band alumni return to Ithaca, brush the cobwebs from their instruments, and join the Big Red Alumni Band. The first Alumni Band in 1982 was the brainchild of Drum Major Dwight Vicks III and Head Manager Bob Geise. The band grows in size each year as bandsmen from seven decades renew old friendships and find common bonds with fellow bandies from other eras.
After the Cornell Big Red scores in football, the trumpet section demonstrates their appreciation by doing pushups for each point scored by the team. [17] In addition, the flute section also joins in with a series of "flute ups"; the section tosses a member of their section into the air for each point scored. [18] Recently, the saxophone section has begun a similar tradition by lifting their saxes in the air while counting the points scored.
The bones (trombone and baritone players) have a number of longstanding traditions to show their Big Red spirit and enthusiasm. The oldest of the section traditions, [19] after the Big Red Band's final home halftime show of the season, the bones strip down into Hawaiian/loud shirts, shorts, and bare feet run around the track circling the football field and play the theme song to "Hawaii 5-O" as fast as possible. The bones also play holiday carols in mid-December, serenading students across campus.
The Sy Katz '31 Parade is a biennial march in New York City which takes place on dates when the Cornell football team travels to Columbia. [20] After the game, the Marching Band leads Cornell alumni, family, and friends down a short stretch of Fifth Avenue, ending with a concert in front of the Cornell Club of New York at 6 East 44th Street. [21] [20] The tradition was started in 1972 by Seymour "Sy" Katz '31 and was the length of one city block. [20] The 2016 parade was headed by Provost Michael Kotlikoff as grand marshal. [20] The 2018 parade, led by Cornell president Martha E. Pollack, marched from Rockefeller Center to the Cornell Club, attended by some 1,000 Cornell alumni, family members and friends. [22] After a COVID-induced hiatus, the Big Red Band returned to the Big Apple for the parade on November 19, 2022, with honorary grand marshals Bill Welker '73 and Brian Adelman '09. [23]
The Cornell Big Red Pep Band is Cornell University's student-run pep band that performs primarily at Cornell Men's ice hockey, with frequent appearances at Women's ice hockey, Men's and Women's lacrosse and basketball, and occasional appearances at a diverse array of other events, such as wrestling, soccer, field hockey, building dedications, and other university events. Until 1986, the band was a subsidiary of the Cornell Big Red Marching Band, with the Marching Band's Drum Major serving as one of the two conductors, and the Pep Band's Head Manager was simply an elected member of the Marching Band's board. However, in November 1985, the Big Red Bands voted to make the Big Red Pep Band a separate organization in order for it to secure its own funding, have more independent direction, and cater to members who were not necessarily part of the Marching Band. However, there is still much overlap between the two organizations, with a majority of Pep Band members also being involved with the Marching Band, and the elected Pep Band Head Manager serving on the Marching Band's Board. [24]
Beginning in the late nineties, the Pep Band began branching out from playing primarily for hockey games to play at the majority of home men's lacrosse games, numerous basketball games, along with other assorted events. Despite this, the band remains dedicated to hockey, appearing at all home games and a majority of away games.
The band performs at sporting events most weekends, with many weekends in the Spring semester containing two or more events in a single day. If the band is scheduled to perform at two conflicting times, the pep band manager splits the group based upon instrumentation and priority points. Those attending less popular events (e.g. Women's basketball) are rewarded with more priority points than more popular ones (e.g. Men's Ice Hockey.) This gives new members of the band a chance to accumulate priority points quickly and helps assure good instrumentation at less popular events.
Every December, the Pep Band meets and elects the board for the next calendar year. The positions are:
In addition, 2 student conductors are elected at the end of each semester to serve for the next semester. [26]
The Pep Band is allocated 51 tickets for home hockey games, and travels with 25 to 41 members to away games. Typical instrumentation for a home hockey game might be as follows [ citation needed ]:
However, instrumentation varies depending on availability of members and how many priority points members have accumulated by attending past performances and rehearsals. The Big Red Pep Band is acknowledged as one of the best pep bands in college hockey. [27]
The Pep Band has a large and diverse repertoire, much of which consists of custom arrangements done by members of the band. This allows the band to go multiple events before it is necessary to repeat songs, and have enough shorter pieces to perform during stoppages in play to last even triple overtime games without repeating.
The actual pieces are widely varied, from traditional Cornell songs such as "Give my Regards to Davy"(the official fight song), the Alma Mater "Far Above Cayuga's Waters", and "My Old Cornell", to more modern pieces, such as The Who's "Pinball Wizard", "Everybody's Everything", "Rock & Roll part 2", "España", "Paradise City", and "Gonna Fly Now".
The band also typically greets the Harvard University Men's Hockey Team (see Cornell-Harvard hockey rivalry) with the theme from 'Love Story' , Michigan State University and Ohio State University with "Hail to the Victors," Colorado College with "DU, Rah!," Boston College with "The Notre Dame Victory March," Army with "Anchors Aweigh", University of Vermont with "Baby Elephant Walk" and University of Minnesota with "On, Wisconsin!."
The Virginia Pep Band was a student-run musical ensemble at the University of Virginia (UVA). In the tradition of scatter or scramble bands, like those at Stanford, Rice and the Ivy League, the Pep Band preferred irreverent humor and individuality to marching in uniform formations. Founded in 1974, this group of students served as UVa's band supporting athletics in an official capacity until 2003. After being banned from official athletic events in 2003, the group continued to perform at sporting events such as swimming, field hockey, and ice hockey. The ensemble has also performed at Charlottesville community events including the Charlottesville 10-miler, the Alzheimer's Walk, and the United Way Day of Caring.
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada.
The Princeton University Band serves as the marching band and pep band of Princeton University. Like most other Ivy League bands, it is a scramble band. To members and fans, it is often known as the PUB or simply The Band. Many alumni refer to it as the Tiger Band.
The UC Davis Marching Band is the official marching band of the University of California, Davis, organized in fall of 2019. It is the successor to the student-run California Aggie Marching Band-uh!, which existed from the 1920s to 2019. In 2018, the Band-uh had roughly 250 members. It performed at home and away games to cheer on the UC Davis Aggies sports teams, marched in parades, and played at events on the UC Davis campus as well as in the surrounding Davis community.
Cornelliana is anything related to Cornell University, an Ivy League university founded in 1865 in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university has a considerable number of traditions, legends, and lore unique to the university that have developed over its existence, which spans over 150 years.
The University of New Hampshire Wildcat Marching Band, is the official marching band of the University of New Hampshire. The WMB plays at home games of the Wildcat football team, typically one away game per season, the Dover and Salem band shows, and various parades across New England. The band has traditionally had an equal mix of music and non-music majors and claims to have an average GPA consistently above the university's average. The WMB usually marches 80 to 100 members, depending on the year. Its largest roster in the past decade was approximately 125.
The Spartan Marching Band (SMB) is the marching band of Michigan State University. The band has over 300 members and was founded in 1870. Notable music educator Leonard Falcone directed the band from 1927 through 1967.
The Harvard University Band (HUB) is the official student band of Harvard University. The Harvard Wind Ensemble, the Harvard Summer Pops Band, and the Harvard Jazz Bands also fall under the umbrella organization of HUB. Currently, the band plays for all football games as well as home men's and women's ice hockey games. Occasionally it plays at men's and women's basketball games. The uniform for both football games and other formal appearances consists of a crimson wool HUB blazer worn over a white shirt with a black HUB logo tie, black pants, and black shoes. In the early days of the Band, white sailor hats and khaki pants were worn. For hockey games, the band wears a custom Harvard Band hockey jersey, modeled after the home jerseys for men's hockey, which features images of Bertha on the sleeves. Band alumni, known as crusties, maintain strong ties to the HUB, sometimes continuing to act as regular members well after graduating from the university. Illegitimum non carborundum (INC) is the HUB motto. Written correspondence from HUB or HUB members is frequently signed with INC.
The Cal Poly Mustang Band, also known as The Pride of the Pacific, is the official marching band of California Polytechnic State University in the city of San Luis Obispo, California. Although the band is not a competitive marching band they serve as a school spirit organization. The band functions in two different forms throughout the year. In the fall the band marches as The Mustang Marching Band and during Cal Poly's winter quarter they function as a pep band. The band attends many athletic events during the year to encourage the school's athletic teams and audience support/involvement. The marching band is well-known around campus as an exciting and spirited group that brings pep, passion, and tradition to every performance. The marching band is conducted by three directors: Christopher J. Woodruff, Nicholas P. Waldron, and Len Kawamoto.
The Western Mustang Band (WMB) is the marching band for the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. The band performs at every home football game for the Western Mustangs at TD Stadium in the fall term as well as other athletic events such as basketball and hockey games throughout the year. Its nickname is "The Pride of Western".
The University of Minnesota Marching Band is the marching band of the University of Minnesota and the flagship university band for the state of Minnesota. The Pride of Minnesota serves as an ambassador for the university, representing the school at major events both on and off campus. The band performs before, during, and after all home Golden Gopher football games and bowl games, occasional away games, local parades, numerous pepfests, exhibition performances, as well as a series of indoor concerts toward the end of the regular football season. Members of the band, along with non-member students, also participate in smaller athletic pep bands that perform at other major sporting events, including men's hockey, men's basketball, women's hockey, women's basketball, and women's volleyball.
The University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band, or Pitt Band, is the college marching band at the University of Pittsburgh. The band numbers over 300 students consisting of instrumentalists, a majorette squad known as the Golden Girls, a color guard, and the drumline. The band was founded in 1911 and has won numerous awards over the years. All members of the band must pass an audition in order to join. The band is currently housed in Trees Hall; however, in 2020, the Pitt Athletic Department announced its "Victory Heights" initiative, part of the campus master plan which includes a new marching band facility slated to open in spring 2027.
The Iowa State University Cyclone Marching Band is the marching band of Iowa State University. Composed of two ensembles, the Iowa State University Cyclone Football 'Varsity" Marching Band (ISUCF'V'MB) and State Storm, the band performs in support of the Iowa State Cyclones football team at all home games and at some away games versus Big 12 Conference rivals. Nicknamed the "Pride of Iowa State", the "Best of the Midwest", and the "Varsity Band," the band plays at high school band festivals, indoor concerts, and post-season bowl games.
The Herd of Thunder is the name for the athletic bands of the University of South Florida, which includes the show band, "Rumble" pep band, and marching band ensembles, although it is often used to refer simply to the Marching Band. The Herd of Thunder was founded in 1999, two years after USF fielded its first football team.
Oregon State University Marching Band, ("OSUMB"), is the marching band of Oregon State University, known as the "Spirit and Sound of OSU." The band was established in 1891. It is one of the oldest bands in the Pac-12 and the primary athletic band at Oregon State. In addition to the Oregon State University Marching Band, other athletic bands include Basketball Band, Rhythm & Beavs, Rhythm & Beavs: Travel Band, the Away Game Pep Band, Alumni Band, Gymnastics Band, and Bar Band. All band members are required to participate in marching band before they may be eligible to participate in any of the other athletic bands Oregon State offers.
The Thunder of the East is the marching band of the University at Buffalo in the State University of New York system. UB's first marching band was created in 1920, and disbanded in 1927. It was revived in 1946, increasing in size and reputation until about 1970. It was known as "The Pride of the East." At that time, it was dissolved upon UB's departure from Division I athletics. In 1981, some UB students continued the tradition of playing music at UB's home football and basketball games by forming UB's Pep Band. In anticipation of UB's return to Division I athletics, a marching band was formed in 1999 and named, "Thunder of the East." The band debuted at the University at Buffalo Stadium on September 11, 1999. The Thunder of the East is currently led by James E. Mauck; and performs at UB's Buffalo Bulls home football games, as well as in other musical venues.
The Tulane University Marching Band (TUMB) is the marching band of Tulane University. It performs at every Tulane Green Wave football home game in Yulman Stadium, bowl games, and some away games. It is also marches in New Orleans Mardi Gras parades each year, having appeared in Le Krewe d'Etat, the Krewe of Thoth, the Krewe of Bacchus, and the Krewe of Rex, among others.
The SMU Mustang Band, known as "the Hub of SMU Spirit" or the "Best Dressed Band in the Land" because of its 32 unique uniforms, is the marching band of Southern Methodist University. The band represents the University at football games, produces the Pigskin Revue during Homecoming, and performs at special university and community-related events. Founded in 1917, the Mustang Band is currently under the direction of Director Charles Aguillon, Assistant Director Paul Crockett, and Drumline Instructor Jon Lee.
The Marching Salukis is the official marching band of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Composed of men and women, the band performs at all SIU football home games and marches in parades for SIU homecoming, the Du Quoin State Fair and Carbondale Lights Fantastic. The band has also performed in halftime programs for the Chicago Bears, St. Louis Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams, as well as presidential addresses in Carbondale by Bill Clinton.
The Ohio State University Athletic Band is a non-audition band for any student, faculty, or staff of Ohio State University with prior instrumental experience. Many students who perform in the Athletic Band also perform in the Ohio State University Marching Band. Each Athletic Band features full contemporary concert band instrumentation, including woodwinds. It performs throughout the year at various athletic and goodwill functions across campus. Members of the Athletic Band receive course credit for their band participation.