Harvard University Band

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Harvard University Band
Harvard University Band and alumni.jpg
Student and alumni celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Harvard University Band in 2019
School Harvard University
Location Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Conference Ivy League
Founded1919
DirectorMark E. Olson
Members80+
Fight song""10,000 Men of Harvard", "Yo Ho!", "Fight Fiercely, Harvard!", "Harvardiana", "Up The Street""
Website www.harvardband.org

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 (both home and away) 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 (since 1961), and black shoes. In the early days of the Band, white sailor hats and khaki pants were worn. For hockey games, the band wears (over casual clothes) a custom Harvard Band hockey jersey, modeled after the home jerseys for men's hockey, which features images of Bertha (the huge bass drum) 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.

Contents

History

The band was formed in 1919. By 1930 the band had become a scramble band, a method that was also adopted by most other Ivy League marching bands (as well as the Stanford Band and the Rice Marching Owl Band), with the exception of the Cornell University band. While the inventor of the scramble band technique remains in debate, the HUB maintains a strong claim to the title. A scramble band simply runs (in lieu of marching) from one formation to the next on a cue, typically a starter's pistol. [1]

The HUB office was formerly at 9 Prescott St., and moved to 74 Mt. Auburn St, in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1995. The Harvard University Band's new headquarters was named the "Anderson Band Center" on October 26, 1995, in honor of Leroy Anderson, Director in 1929 and from 1931 to 1935. [2]

Band leadership

At The Game 1994 Harvard Band.jpg
At The Game 1994

The Band is led by a Senior Staff consisting of five officers:

Manager: Oversees finances and activity bookings. The current Manager is Luke Jackson '24.
Drill Master: Writes and directs the field shows for football games; coordinates the cheers during hockey games. The current Drill Master is Ja'Karri Pierre '25.
Student Conductor: Conducts and writes arrangements. The current StudCon is Travis Tucker '25.
Drum Major: Serves as the leader for field and parade performances; assists in conducting with a mace; acts as the liaison with other Ivy Bands and coordinator of all away trips. The current Drum Major is Justin Su '24.
Schneider: Coordinates the social activities of the Band and maintains and bolsters esprit de corps. The current Schneider is Kyle Stevenson '25.

The senior staff uniforms vary from the standard uniform. The Drum Major wears a tuxedo, red bow tie, and carries a mace, the Drill Master wears a black trench coat, the Student Conductor wears a HUB bow tie, the Manager wears a unique black hat, and the Schneider wears a green tie.

Junior Staffers, who often later become Senior Staffers, work to build up band loyalty and spirit, and themselves provide the core active membership. Junior staff is composed largely of committees under each of the Senior Staff members:

Manager's Committee: Treasurer, Merchandise Coordinator, Webmaster, Alumni and Public Relations Coordinator, Mailing Coordinator, Historian
Drill Master's Committee: Assistant Drill Manager (ADM), Prop Crew Manager, Recruiting Coordinator, Cinematographer, Social Media Coordinator, Minecraft Maestro (retired position)
Student Conductor's Committee: Music Manager (2), Music Archivist, Arrangements and Licensing Coordinator, Percussion Arranging Coordinator, Instruments Manager
Drum Major's Committee: Internal, Trips Manager, Section Leaders - Saxophones, Clarinets, Trumpets, Flutes, Percussion, Low Brass
Schneider's Committee: Weisse (3-4), Schwartz
Miscellaneous: Wind Ensemble Manager, Jazz Band Manager

The Senior Staff is selected by the previous Senior Staff. The official transition takes place annually in the HUB section of the stands after the completion of the halftime show at The Game.

Directors

• 1919-1921Frederic L. Reynolds '20
• 1922-1923Addison Simmons '24
• 1924-1926Ambrose F. Keeley '27
• 1927-1928Harold Holland '28
• 1929 Leroy Anderson '29
• 1930-1931Guy V. Slade '32
• 1931-1935 Leroy Anderson '29
• 1936-1937Robert W. Snyder '38
• 1938-1939James C. Gahan '36
• 1940-1941James W. Holt DMD '42
• 1942Malcolm Holmes '28
• 1943-1944 (Naval unit band)Ed Chastagner (drum major & drill master)
• 1945 (transitional)-
• 1946-1952Malcolm Holmes '28
• 1953-1959G. Wright Briggs '31
• 1960-1969James Walker AMT '63
• 1970Frank Battisti
• 1971–2013Thomas G. Everett (longest serving director in HUB history and of all the Ivy Bands)
• 2014–PresentMark E. Olson

Assistant directors

• 2001-2003Nathaniel H. Dickey
• 2003–2014Mark E. Olson

Large items

Bertha Harvard Band Big Drum.jpg
Bertha

Prop Crew

The Band "Prop Crew" is part of the Harvard Band and is an integral part of the band's spirit and performance. Prop crew members do not play instruments but generally assist with putting on the halftime show (often acting as extras in the performances) and playing "Bertha." The attire for Prop Crew members is a white jumpsuit with "HARVARD BAND" emblazoned in red stitching on the back.

News and stunts

The HUB's then-largest baton Harvard Band Largest Baton.jpg
The HUB's then-largest baton
Harvard stadium wide view.jpg
To mark the 100th anniversary of the band, hundreds of alumni joined the band on the field on October 12, 2019.

Notable alumni

Repertoire

Songs

The repertoire consists of traditional Harvard fight songs and their own arrangements of popular songs played for field shows.

Fight songs

Fight Fiercely

Unofficial

Cheers

Staff cheers
These cheers are intended for the band itself, rather than the audience

The Latin verse

There is an old saying that, "You can always tell a Harvard Man (now Grad)....but you can't tell 'em very much." In keeping with that tradition, the main Harvard fight song, Ten Thousand Men of Harvard features a first verse in Latin. The verse is intended as an extended Latin pun and makes little sense when translated: The verse was written in 1953 by Ed Upton '53, Alan Robinson '54 and Charles Lipson '54.

Illigitimum non Carborundum, Domine Salvum Fac.
Illigitimum non Carborundum, Domine Salvum Fac.
Gaudeamus Igitur,
Veritas, non Sequitur,
Illigitimum non Carborundum, Ipso Facto

Reunions

Tom McGrath '76 and his father Joe McGrath '44 at the Harvard Band's 75th reunion HUB 75th.jpg
Tom McGrath '76 and his father Joe McGrath '44 at the Harvard Band's 75th reunion

Uniquely among college bands, the Harvard Band holds its own reunion every five years. It is also the oldest college band reunion in the world, with the first held at the Harvard University Band's 30th Anniversary in 1949. [11] The Band's 90th Reunion in 2009 had almost 200 alumni return to perform in Soldier's Field. These reunions allow a member to reconnect with friends from several graduating classes. By contrast, a typical class reunion is only for people who all graduated in the same year.

The band's 100th anniversary in 2019 attracted hundreds of band alumni to the October 12 game against Cornell University. [12] Other centenary festivities included an evening of performances and a performance by the newly restored Besson tuba. [12]

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References

  1. "The Harvard University Band". Archived from the original on 2006-07-08.
  2. 1 2 "Leroy Anderson Foundation, Cambridge Massachusetts, Birthplace of Leroy Anderson [1908-1975]".
  3. "Band Celebrates 35th Anniversary of Showboat Drills and Serenades | News | the Harvard Crimson".
  4. Powell, Alvin (1999). "Stepping Lively at 80, The Band Plays On" Archived 2006-01-17 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved Mar. 16, 2006.
  5. Spilka, Bill (2004). "32 Years of Tubists at the New York City Brass Conference" Archived 2006-03-05 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved Mar. 16, 2006.
  6. Baines, Anthony (1993). Brass Instruments : Their History and Development. ISBN   0-486-27574-4. Retrieved Mar. 16, 2006.
  7. "The Harvard University Band".
  8. Official Guinness Record Site
  9. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Penn Band Sets Guinness World Record - World's Largest Baton. YouTube .
  10. "Leroy Anderson > Official Biography > American Composer and Conductor of Light Concert Music".
  11. "Harvard University Band" . Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  12. 1 2 Simon, Clea (9 October 2019). "The Harvard band at 100". Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2019.