UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 35, Page 1
June 22, 1995
New director marks UD Marching Band's 50th

     This year marks the 50th anniversary of the University of Delaware
Marching Band, and the well-known musical performing organization begins
its second half-century with its first-ever female director.
     When Heidi Sarver, 31, takes up the baton to lead the Pride of
Delaware this fall, she'll be one of only a handful of women college or
university band directors in the nation. Selected after a national search
this spring, she will begin working with the band over the summer and
officially assume her new title Sept. 1.
     Sarver is only the fifth Marching Band director at the University. Her
predecessors include J. Robert King, David P. Blackinton, Robert J.
Streckfuss and Alan D. Hamant.
     The College Band Directors' National Association in Texas estimates
that, while 50 percent of all middle school marching band directors are
women and 30 percent of high school marching band directors are women, the
number falls to l0 percent at the university and college level.
     Fresh from her position as assistant director of bands at Temple
University, Sarver, whose instrument is trumpet, isn't telling her
tentative plans for the upcoming musical season. But she does say she's
interested in variety-from classical to pop to new movie tunes.
     "We'll look for balance," she said. "I'll be looking for things that
fit our world and that an audience would love."
     Sarver is an experienced drill writer who has continued to put
together many half-time pieces for the University of Massachusetts Marching
Band in the last nine years, since her graduate assistant days there. She
also has designed drills (arranged the band movement) for Temple's Diamond
Marching Band and for many high school bands.
     "When I was at U. Mass, we loved traveling to Delaware," she recalls.
"In Delaware, football is a whole-day experience and the audience is always
great."
     The last time Sarver saw a Delaware football game was three years ago
when, while working at Temple, she came to see the U. Mass band perform one
of her shows.
     Close friends, she said, can tell when she has designed a show,
although she's not sure what gives it her signature. "Every drill writer is
unique. It's a very personal, creative thing," she explained.
     Ironically, Savers was not a drum major in her high school band.
     "I was the typical trumpet player who had solos and the band director
would always say he needed me in the field," she explained. Although she
has known since ninth grade that she wanted to be a marching band director
some day, she didn't work as a drum major until graduate school at U. Mass.
     In announcing Sarver's appointment, Mary Richards, dean of the UD
College of Arts and Science, said, "I am delighted to have a dynamic
director like Heidi Sarver to lead the Marching Band. With her experience
and enthusiasm, our band will grow in size and renown."
     David Herman, chairperson of the Department of Music, said, "We are
delighted to have her here and welcome her as a faculty member in the
Department of Music. It's terrific that she will not only be working with
the UD band (her primary responsibility), but she will be a valuable new
asset to the Department of Music and its programs.
     "I am confident she's just the right person to assume the leadership
of the UD Marching Band-the Pride of Delaware-continuing the tradition of
excellence developed over the past 50 years," Herman said.
     Sarver holds a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's
degree in trumpet performance, both from the University of Massachusetts.
     In addition to her contributions as drill designer, she worked as a
graduate assistant in trumpet at U. Mass. She also has been the band
director at Oceanside High School in Oceanside, N.Y., and has been the
assistant director of bands at Temple University since 1992.
     She has given clinics across the country for the George N. Parks Drum
Major Academy, teaching the art of drum majoring.
     A member of the Wind Symphony of Southern New Jersey, Sarver also has
performed with the South Shore Symphony Orchestra in Rockville Center, N.Y.
     At UD, she will lead band members in half-time shows at both home and
away games. She replaces Hamant, who has returned to full-time teaching.
                                                               -Beth Thomas