Reaching Out to Our Community
By: Kyle Korb (Vice President of the UCMB)

A new committee is in the process of being created for the Band Council that will help the UCMB expand our reach within the UConn community. The Community Outreach Committee will be comprised of UCMB members interested in reaching out to other student organizations and UConn faculty and staff with the purpose of recognizing their achievements and contributions. The committee will be a permanent committee of the council that will be headed by the Band Council Secretary but will have some crossover with many other positions on the council. Some activities that the committee will be involved in include contacting student organizations and congratulating them on when they achieve something, for example if an A Capella group were to have a performance, the committee would send them a congratulatory note and ask when the next performance will be. The committee would then work with our Social Coordinator to organize band members to attend the next performance. The committee will also be tasked with giving recognition to outstanding UConn faculty and staff. This would include presenting them with a certificate of our appreciation and inviting them to observe one of our rehearsals. This past season, the UCMB had visitors at our rehearsals that included President Susan Herbst and Football Coach Randy Edsall. The hope is to expand from just the big-name faculty and staff and begin recognizing the universities outstanding professors and other staff. These responsibilities and more will be included in the creation of this committee. If you have any suggestions on how to make this committee even better, feel free to email me at kyle.korb@uconn.edu. Your insight would be greatly appreciated! 

Brass Band
By:  Josh Hess

New Orleans style brass band has one of the oldest traditions of second line music during a parade, singing and dancing to the band as they walk down the street. Even though it is most prevalent in the south, everyone around can enjoy the second line style of playing. Some time ago, our old assistant director Marvin McNeil wanted to continue that tradition at UConn, and started a little brass band group that would later continue on to become the Funky Dawgz. Just a couple of guys that loved to play music, getting together and jamming to the style that just wants to make you move your body. But as the Funky Dawgz gained popularity, and the members graduated, they took their music to the next level. Marvin wanted to keep the tradition alive within UConn, and so the UCMB Brass Band was formed. Jump back two years, Marvin offered a spring semester class where you would come in on Friday and just play. He wanted it to be a time to forget about school, to just come and play to your heart’s contempt. So I joined, not knowing at all what brass band music was, but that I played jazz in high school and as brass band is somewhat similar in its styles of improvisation. What started that semester was the new beginning for my new found love in the culture of second line and New Orleans. Have a bass line in the Tubas, a nice groove in the drums, and a couple jazzy licks in the winds and you have yourself a brass band tune. I especially love the freedom musicians have to play in the open spaces or solo in the tunes. There are no rests in this style of music; every open silence is an opportunity to showcase a cool rhythm. There's nothing quite like brass band. Over that semester we learned over a dozen classic brass band tunes, opened for the Funky Dawgz for spring break, and started to expand. Since Marvin could only teach the class in the fall Jeremy Baouche, Artie Koba and I kept the group going as a club on Thursday nights the next semester. Just the way any group started, taking time out of our days to do something we loved. We just couldn’t wait for the spring to start playing again. We took our group out at Rentschler Field and did our own second line before UConn football games. We went out a couple mornings to the local Storrs farmers market to play as well. Some of us even accompany Marvin and the Funky Dawgz and teach kids in Hartford the second line style every Wednesday. As we continued the group each semester more people have found out about their own love for music, and the group has been expanding. So much so that some of us broke off into our own group, the Blueline Brass Band, similar to how the Funky Dawgz started. Now we can venture off and do our own events, like performing in parades such as the Hartford Mardi Gras and events at other campuses. With Marvin teaching in the Spring and the club in the Fall, there is no shortage of the brass band tradition on this campus. Help us spread the New Orleans style by joining if you like to play without any care in the world. Brass, Woodwind, Drums, everything is welcome! Marvin wanted to keep the culture alive in the north, and the UCMB Brass Band is here to stay. Members may come and go, but the love for second line is here to stay.

How Does the UCMB Compare to Other Bands? 
By: Rachel Szendrey  

Heya! Do you have a sibling attending a different university who likes to brag about how great their marching band is? I do! In honor of Emily (and her insistence that a band she doesn’t even play in is the best), I thought it would be interesting to see how the UCMB compares to three of the biggest names in college marching- Purdue University, Ohio State University, and Texas A&M University. As a baseline, let’s talk about the Pride of Connecticut, the UCMB. There were 314 students on the roster for the 2017 marching season, but this number can fluctuate from year to year. We march brass, woodwind, percussion, a color guard, and a feature twirler, as well as field a front ensemble. The band is open to anyone, no prior marching experience required, and most sections do not require an audition. We have a week of band camp, then rehearse three days a week for a total of 6.5 hours. Our pre-game routine is a well-established tradition, as is the band singing the Alma Mater after every performance, the seniors ringing the bell on touchdowns, and our ushering the football team in with Husky Walk. The band most similar to the UCMB is probably Purdue’s All American Marching Band, with over 389 members. They march brass, percussion, woodwind, and have a flag line, a twirler line, and a dance/pom-pom team. To join Purdue’s band, prospective members must attend 5 days of preseason (with an additional 2 if they have never been in the band before) as an audition, on the fourth day of which membership is announced. They typically rehearse four days a week during the season, with Friday rehearsals only on weeks where Purdue has a football game, for a total of 8-10 hours. Their pre-game is also well-established. They form a block P, form Purdue in script, and have an ‘I am an American’ presentation where a patriotic poem is read and the American and Indiana state flags are rolled across the field. After games, the band marches to Slayter Hill (pausing halfway to rest and have the tubas play a cadence) where they give a concert and do a drum major rush where their drum majors high step to a cadence. They end it by running the world’s largest drum right up to their band director- literally stopping inches in front of him. Ohio State university’s marching band has exactly 228 members, only 192 of which march during performances- the extra members are considered alternates. Fun fact: an alternate can, at any time, challenge someone for their spot on the field. According to the band’s website, this ensures that the members who most want to be there and will do the best job will be those who perform. They only march brass and percussion, staying true to their military band roots. To join Ohio State’s band, one must attend two days of tryouts (with an extra two days if they have never been in the band before). Prior to this, they offer ten weeks of preparation in the summer (1-3 days each week) to review marching and music techniques for prospective members. Their pre-game includes the band entering via a ramp in the stadium (much like our football team does), ‘writing’ a script Ohio, and having a tuba player dot the I. They play and/or sing ‘Hold on Sloopy’ at every performance- a crowd favorite. To join Texas A&M’s marching band, you must be a member of the corps of cadets. A military marching band, they march brass, percussion, and some woodwinds- although no flutes! Because of their high-precision marching, flutes cannot join, as they way you hold a flute would get in the way. They have over 400 marchers, usually with membership around 420 (nice). An audition is required to join, and the band practices 5 days a week for a total of 7.5 hours. They are known for precision military marching- this is a band that can do a flawless four-way cross. Every year, the entire corps of cadets (not just the band) takes the field to form a block T. Additionally, because this is a military band, they remain active year-round and have marched in parades, presidential inaugurations, and various military events.