University of California Marching Band

Last updated
The University of California Marching Band
Calbandinitialwedge.jpg The Cal Band during the 2004 marching season.
School University of California
Location Berkeley, California
Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
Founded1891
DirectorDr. Matthew Sadowski
Members216 (2022)
Fight song"Fight for California", "Big C"
Website http://calband.berkeley.edu

The University of California Marching Band, usually shortened to Cal Band, is the marching band for the University of California, Berkeley. While it is administered under the auspices of the university, the Cal Band is almost completely student-run and represents Cal at sporting events and other social gatherings. The name of the band is officially "The University of California Band" according to the constitution, but is typically called "The University of California Marching Band" or "The Cal Band". When the band marches out of Memorial Stadium's North Tunnel for football pre-games, it is referred to as "The Pacesetter of College Marching Bands, the Pride of California".

Contents

Student-run

Unlike most other collegiate marching bands, the Cal Band is not under the University's Department of Music, but rather the Department of Student Musical Activities, along with other student-led organizations such as the University of California Jazz Ensembles and University of California Choral Ensembles. The Executive Committee is the administrative head of the Cal Band and is formed by five student leaders and the only University-paid employee, the Director. The five student positions are the Drum Major, the Student Director, the Executive Secretary, the Public Relations Director and the Senior Manager, each in charge of a specific point of leadership within the band. While the Senior Manager is elected by the previous Executive Committee, all the other student Executive Committee positions are elected by secret ballot. Candidates for each position with the majority vote of the Band serve for one calendar year.

Unlike other major collegiate bands, students will run rehearsals, pick the songs, chart the shows, arrange any trips, and handle promotions through committee vote. This allows members to build their resumes and gain work experience. As of May 2024, the Band has 229 members (no color guard or auxiliary).

After Robert Calonico's retirement in June 2018, Dr. Matthew Sadowski was named the University's new director of bands. [1]

History

The Cal Band has its roots in the University Cadet Band, established in 1891. In 1923, the Band was sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC), and its student leadership structure was formalized two years later. In the early years (prior to 1971), various faculty from the Music department were appointed director of the band through an arrangement with the ASUC.

After the 1950 Rose Bowl against Ohio State University, the Cal Band adopted its iconic high step marching style due to its lackluster performance in comparison to Ohio State's marching band. It is one of only three bands in the Pac-12 (the others being the Spirit of Troy and the University of Washington Husky Marching Band), and one of the few outside the Big Ten Conference to use this physically demanding style. The Straw Hat Band, a voluntary subset of the Cal Band, was also established that same year.

After Professor Cushing (director from 1934 to 1950) resigned from backlash after the 1950 Rose Bowl Game, the Music Department was asked to provide the ASUC with a new Director for the Band. Coincidentally, James Berdahl (Student Director in 1938) was returning to Berkeley to work on his doctoral studies in music. The Music Department Chairman, Albert Elkus, convinced Berdahl to serve as acting Director of the Cal Band until the department could find a permanent replacement for Professor Cushing. Berdahl became permanent Director of the Cal Band at the end of the 1951 season, and remained in that position until 1971.

In the fall of 1968, Dr. David W. Tucker (Ph.D, Cal, 1969) was hired as arranger and composer. He was appointed Associate Director in 1969. His responsibilities with the Cal Band included rehearsing, auditioning prospective new members, and directing on the football field opposite director James Berdahl. For the 1971 season, during Berdahl’s sabbatical year in Japan, Tucker was named Acting Director. At the end of the 1971 season, Tucker left the Cal Band to accept the newly created position of Director of the University of California Jazz Ensembles, after having been the volunteer director since 1969.

During the 1971 season, substantial podium time was taken by Assistant Director Robert O. Briggs. He was appointed acting director in 1972, and was made director in 1973.

In the 1970s, sponsorship moved from the ASUC to the University and a new band constitution was written. In the Spring Quarter of 1973, the all-male band voted to admit women, in the face of Title IX sanctions against the University, which was now the Band's primary funding source. There were fewer than 10 dissenting votes, against more than 100 votes in favor of admitting women. In the Fall 1973 marching season, 23 women marched, together with 120 men. Although they rehearsed, marched and performed with the Band beginning in 1973, women were not entirely accepted by the Band's "inner fellowship" until through attrition the dissenting all-male band veterans had rotated out of the Band. More recently, the Band's membership and leadership has consisted of an even split of men and women, thus successfully breaking any barriers that had previously existed that had prevented women from fully participating in the Cal Band.

In 1993, the Cal Band History Committee published a comprehensive history of the Cal Band. While this volume is now out of print, the text of the History Book can be found online at Cal Band History Book

Director Emeritus Robert O. Briggs died in 2008, leaving a legacy of musicianship spanning two generations of musicians.

Performances

The Cal Band has been seen and heard at a variety of performance venues. In the recent past, the Cal Band has appeared at the San Francisco Symphony's "Black and White Ball", performed for such names as George Shultz (former U.S. Secretary of State), Peter E. Haas and family (UC Berkeley benefactors and the owners of Levi Strauss & Co.), and George Lucas. In addition, the Cal Band has been seen on "The Ed Sullivan Show", the nationally syndicated game show "Wheel of Fortune", Santa Rosa TV 50's morning program, KTVU Channel 2's "Mornings on Two", KRON Channel 4's newscasts, "Bay Area Backroads", and sportscaster Vernon Glen's "Mr. Involvement". The Cal Band sound has been heard on dozens of Bay Area radio stations, such as WiLD 94.9 and KMEL 106.1, Live 105, and K101, and rounds out its exposure on the pages of numerous Bay Area newspapers. In 2010, 2012, and 2014, the band also led the San Francisco Giants victory parade in downtown San Francisco. [2]

In 2016, the band played alongside Coldplay, Beyoncé, and Bruno Mars in the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. [3] On May 18, 2016, the Cal Band traveled to Beijing, China and performed at the Juyongguan Pass section of the Great Wall. [4] In 2018, the Cal Band led the Warriors Victory Parade in downtown Oakland after the Golden State Warriors' win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. [5]

Nearly every year, the band also goes to play at various ski resorts located in the Lake Tahoe region to play songs for Cal fans. [6]

Before 2002, in the spring, the Band performed a traditional "Spring Show" in UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Auditorium, combining the marching and playing talents of the band with other, hidden talents usually reserved for off the football field. Spring Show was discontinued in 2002 after financial burdens to the band resulting from funding cuts to the University of California system.[ citation needed ] In 2009, the Spring Show was brought back, to be discontinued again after the spring of 2011.

In a different sort of performance, the Cal Band was asked to help with the Nobel Lecture by George Smoot in 2006 by recreating "The Big Bang". [7] [8]

Football Performances

The Cal Band performs during a pre-game show Cal Band at game.jpg
The Cal Band performs during a pre-game show

During weeks of home football games, the Cal Band gives several performances. On Fridays before a game, the Cal Band plays at the noon rallies on Sproul Plaza. On game days the Cal Band gives a concert on Sproul Plaza an hour and a half before kickoff. Following this performance, the Band marches in formation to California Memorial Stadium, leading a procession of Cal alumni and fans. During home football games the band gives a pre-game show, a half time show [9] that changes every week, and typically a musical performance after the game as the crowd leaves. During the game, the band is seated to the left of the primary student section, and plays stand songs, as well as fight songs throughout the game. A "break off" band performed in the front of each major section during the third quarter prior to the 2012 renovation of California Memorial Stadium. In 2017, the band played alongside University of Washington Husky Marching Band in their “Tribute to Horn Bands” show, featuring music from The Blues Brothers, Tower of Power, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Chicago.

In the Bleacher Report's power ranking of the top 25 college marching band pregames shows and traditions, the Cal Band was named 9th (of 25) as having a show that "beckons [the] former glory days, full of school songs and traditional formations" and is "a stand-alone classic". [10]

Instrumentation

The Cal Band uses a fairly standard military band instrumentation with piccolos, clarinets, alto saxophones, tenor saxophones, trumpets, mellophones, trombones, baritones, sousaphones, glockenspiels, snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums, and cymbals.

California Alumni Band

The California Alumni Band, usually shorted to Cal Alumni Band, is a marching band consisting of former Cal Band members. The Cal Alumni Band is run by the non-profit Cal Band Alumni Association and is a subset of the Cal Alumni Association, an organization that handles alumni affairs of the University of California, Berkeley.

The Cal Alumni Band performs at various events such as: San Francisco AIDS Walk, Alumni Band Day, the Fourth of July Parade in Sausalito, California, Cal Basketball Games, and many other performances in the San Francisco Bay Area and across California.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of California, Berkeley</span> Public university in Berkeley, California

The University of California, Berkeley is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley, it is the state's first land-grant university and was the founding campus of the University of California system. Berkeley was also a founding member of the Association of American Universities and was one of the original eight "Public Ivy" schools with a quality of education comparable to the Ivy League. It is often regarded as one of the most prestigious and elite universities in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Game (American football)</span> College football rivalry between UC Berkeley and Stanford

Big Game is the name given to the California–Stanford football rivalry. It’s an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. Both institutions are located in the San Francisco Bay Area. First played in 1892, it remains one of the oldest college rivalries in the United States. The game is usually played in late November or early December and its location alternates between the two universities every year. In even-numbered years, the game is played in Berkeley while odd-numbered years are played at Stanford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowles Hall</span> Building and residential college at the University of California, Berkeley

Bowles Hall is a coed residential college at the University of California, Berkeley, known for its unique traditions, parties, and camaraderie. Designed by George W. Kelham, the building was the first residence hall on campus, dedicated in 1929, and was California's first state-owned residence hall. It was built in 1928 with a $350,000 grant from Mary McNear Bowles in memory of her husband, Berkeley alumnus and University of California Regent Phillip E. Bowles. Mr. Bowles was said to have three loves: horses, horticulture and the University of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA Bruin Marching Band</span> Marching band of University of California, Los Angeles

The Solid Gold Sound of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band represents the university at major athletic and extracurricular events. During the fall marching season, this 250-member band performs at the Rose Bowl for UCLA Bruin home football games. Pregame shows by the band aim to build crowd energy and enthusiasm with traditional UCLA songs like "Strike Up the Band for UCLA", "Bruin Warriors", and "The Mighty Bruins". Throughout the game, the band performs custom-arranged rock and pop songs, as well as the traditional fight songs and cheers of the university. The UCLA Varsity Band appears at basketball games and other athletic contests in Pauley Pavilion. In 2018, the Bruin Marching Band was featured on the Muse album "Simulation Theory" performing the Super Deluxe version of the song "Pressure."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC Davis Marching Band</span> Marching band of the University of California, Davis

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.

Bruin Warriors, also known as "Sons of Westwood" and "Big C", is a fight song of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The tune comes from Big C, a school fight song for the University of California, Berkeley. The UCLA Bruin Marching Band plays the song as part of their football pregame show as they move into the script UCLA formation. The song has been updated since 2016 with the new title "Bruin Warriors", and lyrics that include "daughters" as well as "sons".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun Devil Marching Band</span> Marching band of Arizona State University

The Sun Devil Marching Band (SDMB), also known as The Pride of the Southwest, is the athletic band of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devil Marching Band motto is “Expect Great Things.” The acronym EGT is inscribed on a sign that hangs from the director's podium towering over the band's practice field, and is a symbol of the high standards that band members strive to meet. The ASU Band program, which includes the Marching, Pep, and Dixieland bands, is a part of the Sun Devil Athletics department. The band is currently under the direction of Director of Athletic Bands James G. "The Hammer" Hudson, who took over the program in 2006. The Sun Devil Marching Band is a major ambassador for Arizona State University and the state of Arizona. Each year almost 500,000 people are entertained by the band, which plays at home football at Sun Devil Stadium and as a pep band for basketball games at Wells Fargo Arena, homecoming, bowl game parades, other community events in the Valley, across the country, and even abroad.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band</span> College marching band in Evanston, Illinois

The Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band (NUMB) is the marching band at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The ensemble performs at all home football games and periodically makes appearances at events in the Chicago area. The band also performs at any postseason football games and one "away trip" per season, typically a Big Ten Conference game in the later half of the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas State University Marching Band</span> College marching band in Manhattan, Kansas

The Kansas State University Marching Band, also known as "The Pride of Wildcat Land" or just The Pride, is a 375 piece marching band consisting of woodwinds, brass, percussion, color guard, dancers, and twirlers. It is the official band of Kansas State University.

"Big C" is a fight song of the University of California, Berkeley. It was composed in 1913 by Harold P. Williams, with lyrics by Norman Loyall McLaren. It was written to commemorate the construction of the large concrete "C" in 1905 on the "rugged Eastern foothills" of the Berkeley campus. The song was the winning entry in the Daily Californian school song competition in 1913. Arrangements of the tune are used by other schools in the University of California system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CalTV</span> American student-run online TV channel

CalTV is a student run online television station at University of California, Berkeley. Since its founding, CalTV has grown into one of the largest student run media organizations on the west coast. CalTV is a chartered organization of the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iowa State University Cyclone Marching Band</span> College marching band in Ames, Iowa

The Iowa State University Cyclone Football 'Varsity' Marching Band (ISUCF'V'MB) is the marching band of Iowa State University. Also known as the Cyclone Marching Band (CMB), it is nicknamed the "Pride of Iowa State", the "Best of the Midwest", and the "Varsity Band". 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. The band plays at high school band festivals, indoor concerts, and post-season bowl games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of California Men's Octet</span> Male acappella group at the University of California, Berkeley

The UC Men's Octet, sometimes termed the Cal Men’s Octet or the UC Berkeley Men’s Octet, is an eight-member male a cappella group at the University of California, Berkeley. Founded in 1948 as a member of the UC Choral Ensembles, the group's broad repertoire features several genres of music including barbershop, doo-wop, pop and alternative, and a healthy dose of Berkeley fight songs. The Octet has recorded over a dozen albums and is one of only three multiple-time champions of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA)—the other two being USC's SoCal VoCals and Berklee's Pitch Slapped—having won the competition in both 1998 and 2000.

Robert Orlando Briggs was the longtime director of the University of California Marching Band. He was the fourth full-time director since the founding of the band in 1891.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon Marching Band</span> Marching band of Bowling Green State University

The Falcon Marching Band, known also as the FMB, is the marching band of Bowling Green State University. It features a symphonic sound and chair step marching. Under the direction of Jonathan “Jon” Waters, marching band is the largest student organization on campus. The band performs at all home football games, which are hosted in Doyt Perry Stadium as well as other various university functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of California Jazz Ensembles</span>

The University of California Jazz Ensembles, also known as the UC Jazz Ensembles, UC Jazz, or UCJE, is the student jazz organization founded in 1967 on the University of California, Berkeley, campus. Founded in 1967, it comprises one or more big bands, numerous jazz combos, a vocal jazz ensemble, an alumni big band, and instructional classes. With a mission statement to foster a community for the performance, study, and promotion of jazz at U.C. Berkeley, its Wednesday Night big band provides free concerts every Thursday noon on Lower Sproul Plaza, its various units perform throughout the San Francisco Bay Area including area high schools, travel to collegiate jazz festivals, and perform overseas, and for many years it sponsored the annual Pacific Coast Jazz Festival. It also provides master classes by its instructors and clinics by prominent guest artists. It has nurtured numerous musicians who have become professional jazz musicians and educators. UC Jazz Ensembles is one of three groups, with the Cal (marching) Band and UC Choral Ensembles, forming Student Musical Activities (SMA), a department within Cal Performances on the U.C. Berkeley campus. Its members are primarily U.C. Berkeley undergraduate and graduate students, representing many academic disciplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David W. Tucker</span> Musical artist

David W. Tucker (1929–2003) was an American jazz trombonist, music educator, composer of band and orchestral music, record producer, and marching band arranger, most renowned as the director of the University of California Jazz Ensembles from 1969 until 1985. Under his direction, the organization expanded to become the largest musical organization on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, had an international reputation resulting from foreign tours, and sponsored the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival. Numerous student members of the organization have become renowned jazz musicians, composers, and music educators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occupy Cal</span> Protest group against economic inequality

Occupy Cal included a series of demonstrations that began on November 9, 2011, on the University of California, Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California. It was allied with the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City, San Francisco Bay Area Occupy groups such as Occupy Oakland, Occupy Berkeley, and Occupy San Francisco, and other public California universities. "Cal" in the name "Occupy Cal" is the nickname of the Berkeley campus and generally refers specifically to UC Berkeley.

Blockeley is a Minecraft server created by students of the University of California, Berkeley, which is a 1:1 scale reconstruction of the university campus.

References

  1. ↑ Ho, Anna; Gupta, Aarya (June 28, 2018). "Matthew Sadowski to be next UC Berkeley director of bands, Cal Performances announces". The Daily Californian.
  2. ↑ "The Cal Band leads the way at the SF Giants World Series parade today. You don't even have to be A". 3 November 2010.
  3. ↑ Lewis, Dave (February 8, 2016). "Cal marching band adds brassy muscle to Coldplay's Super Bowl show". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ↑ "Cal Band marching off on Asia tour". 13 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Haigney, Sophie; Veklerov, Kimberly; Rubenstein, Steve (June 13, 2018). "Warriors Parade: Fans come out en masse for what's become an annual party". Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Band brings music to the slopes: UC Berkeley musicians entertain at ski resorts". Archived from the original on 2007-01-26. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  7. ↑ Cal Band reenacts the Big Bang, with direction by Nobelist George Smoot
  8. ↑ Nobelist-George-Smoot-Directs-Big-Bang-with-Cal-Band-12-06
  9. ↑ Cal band shows its love of video games from the Tech Chronicles Blog of the San Francisco Chronicle
  10. ↑ Power Ranking the Top 25 College Marching Band Pregame Shows
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.