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Band marches onto the field
BY SUZANNA CYR
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
After 18 years of silence, the UMD Marching Band will be making its debut prior to the homecoming football game on Sept. 29.
“For the last 20 years we’ve had a pep-band at the games and now we are going to incorporate a marching band,” said marching band director and assistant director of bands at UMD Dan Eaton.
Dr. Mark Whitlock, director of bands at UMD, and Eaton have been working for over six years to get the marching band up and running again.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Whitlock said. “It’s one of the highlights of my career.”
The season will consist of three shows at home football games. Funding did not come in until the third week of June causing no time for a band camp. Although the season will start with less practice than desired, commanding officer of the band Jason Grimm has high hopes. “I think that this marching band will be amazing,” Grimm said.
According to Eaton, it was a “whirlwind” of a summer. This is nothing new to most of the members of the band who marched throughout high school.
“I was in marching band and color guard for five years while in high school. I loved it so much,” Chelsea Voltin, head of the color guard said.
The band will march in corps-style and will involve the UMD Dance Line in some of the shows. There will be a pre-game show at every game including songs like “UMD Rouser,” “Bulldogs Fight” and with the company of the pep-band, “Star Spangled Banner.” During half-time the band will play songs from each decade starting with “Jump, Jive and Wail” from the ‘40s and finishing with “In a Young Man’s Mind” from 2000.
“We’re making a huge impact for the whole University,” said Eaton as he provided information to the eager students. He encouraged
those who were Music-Ed majors to join but admitted that most of the people in the band are majoring in something unrelated.
Although the marching band is still small, the excitement is huge. There is a perfect balance between instruments and section said Eaton.
“With marching band, pep-band, concert band and the wind ensemble, we are ... showing support for UMD,” drum major Lauren Chuba said.
“If we go on the field with 40 [people], I’m going to be excited. If we go on the field with 200 [people], I’m going to be excited. If we go on the field with 20 [people], we’re going to rock and role,” said Eaton.
Suzanna Cyr is at
cyrxx013@d.umn.edu
