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Sept. 20, 2002--Q: How did you become involved in working with marching bands?
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| Music Graduate Assistant Justin McAdams and Director Heidi Sarver supervise UD Marching Band practice from a 40-foot-high scissor lift. |
A: I fell in love with marching bands and their pageantry when I was in high school. I was fortunate to have high school and college band directors who recognized my interest and helped to foster it. I received my bachelor of music education and master of music performance degrees from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and then served as assistant director of bands at Temple University before coming to UD eight years ago.
Q: When do you begin preparing for the fall season?
A: It's never too early to start planning! Some years are easier than others. We knew what we were going to do for this year's first show in 2000. That was just good luck, however. A normal year will have me brainstorming with Jim Ancona, our assistant director, and Donald Jenness, our auxiliary coordinator, in December. Then we work throughout the spring months on the musical arrangements.
Q: Do you hold a band camp?
A: Yes, Band Camp is traditionally held the week before classes begin and is right here on the main campus.
Q: How often does the band practice?
A: Once classes begin, the band rehearses three days a week, between 4 and 6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Marching Band only exists during the fall semester. Once the football season draws to a conclusion, the uniforms get dry cleaned and stored away until the next year.
Q: What’s the biggest game of the year for the band?
A: That’s a tough one-—all the games are huge! However, whenever we play UMass the pressure is really on because they have a great band, too! The students in each band have developed lasting friendships over the years so it’s always a wonderful weekend when we all get to see each other.
Q: What instrument is most represented in the marching band?
A: Trumpets—we average 48-50 each year.
Q: Is there an instrument that only one person plays?
A: The electric bass.
Q: What are the prerequisites for joining the UD Marching Band? Do some musicians join without previous marching band experience?
A: There really are no prerequisites other than a desire to be part of an incredible group of people who love to perform. We usually have a few people join each year who have never marched a day in their life. Because the members of the band consider each other to be "family," newcomers to the activity are treated like royalty. Very rarely do we lose a person who has never been in a marching band before.
Q: How many people are in the band? What percentage of members are music majors?
A: The band has had an average of 300 members since 1998. Roughly 12-15 percent are music majors. The rest are all non-major undergraduate students. The last couple of years we have had members from every college in the University.
Q: What is your most memorable moment as UD Marching Band director?
A: To date it was the joint half-time performance with the UMass Minuteman Marching Band and 16 local high school bands on Sept. 22, 2001. That was the first football game and performance for all of us following 9/11. I do not believe I will ever forget the sights and sounds of the audience when over 2,000 performers played “God Bless the U.S.A.” Watching all of those people wave American flags and hearing them sing along, you could not help but be moved to tears.
Q: Is there a humorous or unusual incident that sticks in your mind?
A: There have been many humorous and unusual incidents over the years. Not surprisingly, most of them revolve around the tuba section. The tubas have their own personal song that has been handed down from generation to generation since the 1960s—the theme for the children's show, “Bozo.” I have seen them play this music from the top of the BCC and throughout the parking lots after a game. They even invaded a Tubby Raymond Radio Show being broadcast from Grotto’s Pizza one night. But the most unusual, performance of this music comes each fall at the request of President Roselle. The tubas don tuxedos or elegant dresses and perform from the upper floors of the atrium in Gore Hall for the recipients of the Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement.
Q: Is there one song that is played at every game?
A: Aside from the traditional music we perform each year at pre-game (“Fight Song,” “ Delaware Forever,” “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Alma Mater”), there is only one song the band plays every season. In 1995, my first year, the band adopted "In My Life" (by the Beatles) as the official band song. It is performed at the conclusion of each football postgame show.
Q: What are the themes or selections planned for the year?
A: We've mixed things up a bit this year. The first show included music from the movie “Robin Hood,” a jazz chart entitled “One More Time, Chuck Corea,” and a Michael Jackson medley. We wanted to entertain as broad an audience as possible. The second show will be a return of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita.” We chose to rework this show and bring it back for a very specific reason. This November the band will travel to Indianapolis to perform at the Bands of America Grand National Championships. This is a prestigious event where the most accomplished high school marching bands from all over the country perform over a period of three days. Each year, two collegiate marching bands are invited to perform in exhibition. This past July, we received one of those invitations. On Nov. 16, the UD Marching Band will perform before 35,000 people in the RCA Dome.
Q: Do you compete against other marching bands?
A: There are no competitions for college marching bands. Collegiate-level marching bands vary far too much because of school traditions and their roles at their institutions.
Q: Does the entire band play at every home football game? Is the band going to any away games this fall?
A: All performances are mandatory for all members of the marching band. The band will travel to UMASS in November for the UD/UMASS game.
Article by Elissa Serrao AS 2003
For more information about the UD Marching Band go to [www.music.udel.edu/udband/].
Photos by Kathy Flickinger and Eric Crossan
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