Princeton Weekly Bulletin March 22, 1999
Band's watchwords: music, merriment
By Caroline Moseley
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The Band marched through campus, drumming up spirit for the fall Student Activity Fair. (photo: Susan Geller) |
The band fields "about 50 dedicated members at any given event," according to band president Tom Sanderson '00. Instrumentally, "We have a pretty typical band make-up: trumpets, trombones, tubas, saxophones, flutes, piccolos, clarinets, French horns and drums." This year the band also boasts two accordions and a bagpipe, he says, in addition to the ever-popular Elite Percussion Corps (Wisk bottle, plastic duck, kazoo, whatever).
Sanderson points out that the PU Band "is not a marching band in the strict sense. Yes, we 'march' in that we keep time, or move from place to place, but we do not perform the elaborate maneuvers that characterize the marching bands of, say, Big 10 schools."
Rather, the PU Band is a "scramble band," says Sanderson, as are all the Ivy bands except Cornell's. Football half-time shows "may include some marching and some formations, but the band gets from one formation to the next by scrambling. It looks random, but we end up in the right place." Football half-time performances also include humorous scripts that satirize campus life, national politics, and rival colleges and teams.
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Seniors Christopher Hyson and Peter Photos, then
drum major and conductor, led the band on the day
Princeton Stadium was dedicated in October 1998 |
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More casual than orchestra
What draws musicians to the band rather than to the University Orchestra, Jazz Ensembles or other groups?
"The band is unique on campus in encouraging anyone to participate, regardless of prior musical training," says Sanderson. "We welcome everyone. Attendance is voluntary, and we're very flexible about rehearsals. If you don't show up, we'll call you about events, but the band is definitely more casual than the orchestra."
While most members are veterans of high school bands, they may not have played for some time; and a few, says Sanderson, have never played an instrument -- or at least not the one they play in the band. Sanderson himself is a saxophone player who "is just learning the trombone this season."
What sets the PU band apart from other musical organizations, says alto sax player Amelia Brown '99, is "a sense of humor, and tolerance for infinite diversity and achievement in musical and other spheres."
In any case, many members do play elsewhere. "We have some of the best musicians on campus playing for us," Sanderson says, citing a principal oboe player from the orchestra, a PUJE trombonist, trumpets and saxes also heard in the Triangle Club pit orchestra, and a number of Wind Ensemble performers.
Princeton songs to Phantom
Band repertoire includes "all the standard Princeton songs," augmented by a regular infusion of popular songs, such as "Sweet Georgia Brown," the theme from Phantom of the Opera or Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit." It also plays "fight songs of other schools," Sanderson notes. "We generally play the first verse very nicely, and then the second verse as a waltz or conga."
The band rehearses for two hours each Monday in Woolworth. In addition, during football season there are two two-hour field rehearsals late in the week. Throughout the year, the band plays at approximately two events each week: men's and women's basketball games, men's and women's lacrosse games and field hockey games. If the teams go into tournaments, the band goes with them.
Then there are road trips, which often require a long bus ride and sometimes an overnight -- which, says Sanderson, "is actually a lot of fun."
Notes Brown, "An example was the Penn game February 9 at the Palestra, which was a great trip down and back with friends and food on the bus; a fabulous game with playing, cheering and helping the team; and a real rush when we won. That's the band."
Entirely student-run
In addition to athletic events, the band enlivens many University celebrations. It plays in Jadwin Gym for the Alumni Day luncheon. It leads the P-rade at Reunions -- twice, as a matter of fact: the band marches ahead of the 25th reunion class, then circles back and leads the senior class.
The band also lends its colorful presence to several community events, such as the Arts Council of Princeton Halloween Parade in October and Communiversity, the town-gown arts festival in April.
Associate Director of Athletics Amy Campbell and Assistant Dean of Student Life Marianne Waterbury act as advisers to the organization, which is entirely student-run. Funding is provided by the Office of the Dean of Student Life, Princeton Football Association, various other team-specific organizations, and the Friends of Tiger Band, a band alumni group. "Most of our money," says Sanderson, "is used to purchase and repair instruments," many of which are owned by the band; to dry-clean the trademark plaid jackets at least once a year; and mostly, "to pay for transportation to athletic events."
"Our purpose is to make music and bring smiles to people's faces," declares mellophonist Jon di Cristina '02. "Quite frankly, I can't think of anything more worthwhile."
To learn more about the PU Band, check out its Web page at http://www.princeton.edu/~puband/. The page is maintained by Irwin Tillman '86, CIT network systems programmer and the band's most senior member.