History
The UMass Lowell Marching Band draws its members from virtually every department in each of the university's schools and colleges. The band has been a major ensemble of the Department of Music since 1979. [1]
In its role as ambassador for the university, the marching band performs throughout New England at parades, clinics, exhibitions, and serves as an ambassador for the university and serves as a source of entertainment at university activities. Past performances included exhibitions for United States President Bill Clinton, also for Governors of Massachusetts, and other state dignitaries as well as at band festivals and televised performances seen by audiences of thousands. [1]
Since UMass Lowell eliminated their football team in 2003, the band mostly performs in exhibitions at high school marching band competitions and festivals across the New England region. These include the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association and the New England Scholastic Band Association (NESBA). The marching band is a mixture of both drum corps style visuals and jazz-rock style music. The band's musical program was specially arranged for the ensemble by Lutz, drawn from the classics, jazz, rock and popular idioms. Music and motion were combined through original visual design. The bands consists of instrumentalists, including trumpets, mellophones, baritones, trombones, sousaphones, Alto Saxophones, Tenor Saxophones, Drum Line, guitar and bass. [1] It does not have a clarinet or flute section, but does have a piccolo section. The band suspended their color guard in 2003.
In the Fall of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the band's rehearsals were held virtually through Zoom, concluding with a video performance for a limited audience of UMass Lowell music students. For this virtual season, the band's numbers were a fraction of the size from years prior (70).
After 47 years, director Dan Lutz announced his retirement during the 2025-2026 school year. [2] He had been with the ensemble since it first began in 1979. He originally was hired as the band’s music arranger, and was later promoted to trumpet technician and assistant director by the mid 1980’s. He official became Director of Bands at UMass Lowell in 1988. He has grown the band from just 38 members in the 1980’s to over 120 members by the 2010’s. In addition to Marching band, Lutz oversaw the university’s concert band, wind ensemble, Jazz-Rock Big Band, and The Mary Jo Leahey Symphonic Band Camp. [3]
