Harvard University Band

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The Harvard University Band (HUB) is the official student marching band of Harvard University. The Harvard Wind Ensemble and the Harvard Jazz Bands also fall under the umbrella organization of HUB.

Currently, the band plays for all away and home football games, as well as home men's and women's ice hockey games. Formerly it played at basketball games. The uniform for both football games and formal "gigs" consists of a crimson wool HUB blazer worn over a white shirt with a black HUB logo tie, black pants (since 1961), and black shoes. In the early days of the Band, white sailor hats and khaki pants were worn. For hockey games, the band wears (over casual clothes) a custom Harvard Band hockey jersey, modeled after the home jerseys for men's hockey, which features images of Bertha (the huge bass drum) on the sleeves. Band alumni, known as crusties, maintain strong ties to the HUB, sometimes continuing to act as regular members well after graduating from the University.

Contents

[edit] History

The band was formed in 1919. The band later became a scatter band, a method that was also adopted by most other Ivy League marching bands (as well as the Stanford Band), with the exception of the Cornell University band. While the inventor of the scatter band technique remains in debate, the HUB maintains a strong claim to the title. With certainty, the Band was scrambling as early as 1941.

The HUB office was formerly at 9 Prescott St., and moved to 74 Mt. Auburn St, in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1995.

[edit] Band leadership

The Band is led by a Senior Staff consisting of five officers:

  1. Manager- Oversees finances and activity bookings
  2. Drill Master- writes and directs the field shows for football games; also coordinates the cheers and conducts their articulation during hockey games)
  3. Student Conductor- conducts and writes arrangements
  4. Drum Major- serves as the leader for field and parade performances; assists in conducting with a mace; acts as the liaison with other Ivy Bands and coordinator of all away trips
  5. Schneider- social chair

The senior staff uniforms vary from the standard uniform. The Drum Major wears a tuxedo and carries a mace, the Drill Master wears a black trench coat, the student conductor wears a HUB bow tie, and the Schneider wears a green tie. The manager used to wear a fur coat.

Junior Staffers, who often later become Senior Staffers, work to build up band loyalty and spirit, and themselves provide the core active membership. Junior staff is composed largely of committees under each of the Senior Staff members:

Manager's Committee:
Treasurer
Postmaster
Merchandise
Technology Coordinator
Alumni Relations
Drill Master's Committee
Assistant Drill Manager (ADM)
Publicity & Publications
Prop Crew Manager
Student Conductor's Committee
Music Manager (Librarian)
Music Manager (Instruments)
Arrangements Coordinator
Drum Major's Committee
Internal Affairs
Trips Manager
Section Leaders- Saxophones, Clarinets, Trumpets, Flutes, Percussion, Low Brass
Schneider's Committee
Weisse
Historian
Miscellaneous
Wind Ensemble Manager
Jazz Band Manager

Other miscellaneous personnel include the Assistant Director, HUB accountant, Prop Crew (who maintains, guards, and transports show props and equipment), MOM, Crusties (band alumni), and foosball league commissioner. Local artist Alice Tondel served as MOM and began her association with the HUB in 1949 until her passing in 1993.

The Senior Staff is selected by the previous Senior Staff. The official transition takes place annually in the HUB section of the stands after the completion of the halftime show at The Game.

[edit] Directors

• 1919-1921 Frederic L. Reynolds '20
• 1922-1923 Addison Simmons '24
• 1924-1926 Ambrose F. Keeley '27
• 1927-1928 Harold Holland '28
• 1929 Leroy Anderson '29
• 1930-1931 Guy V. Slade '32
• 1932-1935 Leroy Anderson '29
• 1936-1937 Robert W. Snyder '38
• 1938-1939 James C. Gahan '36
• 1940-1941 James W. Holt DMD '42
• 1942 Malcolm Holmes '28
• 1943-1944 (Naval unit band) Ed Chastagner (drum major & drill master)
• 1945 (transitional) -
• 1946-1952 Malcolm Holmes '28
• 1953-1959 G. Wright Briggs '31
• 1960-1969 James Walker AMT '63
• 1970 Frank Battisti
• 1971-Present Thomas G. Everett

[edit] Assistant Directors

• 2001-2003 Nathaniel H. Dickey
• 2003-Present Mark E. Olson

[edit] Trivia

  • The Band's bass drum, depicted on the HUB logo, is towed on wheels and measures approximately 8 feet across. The HUB newsletter is also named the "Bass Drum Journal". Its name is Bertha, and it is sometimes the target of thefts by the rival bands from Yale and Brown. In 1963, the giant drumstick used to sound rhythm on Bertha was spirited away during the second half of the Columbia game at Harvard's home stadium; members of the Columbia University Marching Band at the time, and their progeny, have no idea who may have taken the stick.
  • Bertha originally was purchased in the 1930's by the Associated Harvard Clubs, when the band requested a bass drum to play at their convention. Given a blank check, the band purchased the largest drum available. The band has not been invited to play for any Associated Harvard Club conventions since. The current one was purchased in 1956 after a series of fundraising concerts when the other became too damaged to play.
  • HUB owns one of the world's largest working tubas: a seven foot tall triple B-flat Besson that is more than 50 years old. The musician playing this instrument must experiment and relearn which valve combinations are appropriate for each note. Musicians who have played the tuba in public performances include Boston Symphony Orchestra tubist Chester Schmitz [1], and Sam Pilafian [2]. The tuba last had a large accumulation of dent damage removed somewhere between 1994-2002. The Tuba is engraved "Besson & Sons, London England, Carl Fischer, U.S Agent, New York", and is one of three sub-bass Tubas[3].
  • Illegitimum non carborundum (INC) is the HUB motto. Written correspondence from HUB or HUB members is frequently signed with INC.
  • The band owns a large wooden chair (the Throne) which is ornately decorated with the Harvard logo and HUB motto. It was a gift of the University and the Class of 1903, which the band received in 1953. Currently it is the seat of the Drill Master during drill meetings at which the show for the next week is planned.
  • The band possesses two silver-plated sousaphones. One, named Wolfgang, is irreparably broken as of 2006 and serves as a recycle bin. The other, dubbed The Silver Beast, has made appearances at important football and hockey games since the 1960s. It is traditionally played by the senior tuba player or section leader. Both instruments were repaired of their dents in the late 1990s.
  • The traditional capitalization of Yale for HUB members in their writings is: yale or "yALE" (for listing the home game on the schedule, for example).

[edit] News and stunts

Student Conductor Kenton Hetrick '07 with the world's largest baton
Student Conductor Kenton Hetrick '07 with the world's largest baton
  • 1971 Director Thomas Everett founds the Harvard Jazz Band
  • 1976 At the Brown game, student conductor J. Barbash lands in a helicopter on the field dressed as Leonard Berstein, and the impersonation is said to have been believed by the audience
  • 1994 At the 75th Reunion, the 1812 Overture is performed on the field with the explosion of hydrogen balloons serving as cannon fire. (ref) The idea was inspired by Harvard residence Lowell House's traditional courtyard rendition of the same song using the same method.
  • 2006 At the Lafayette game, student conductor Kenton Hetrick '07 conducted the HUB with a 12.5 ft baton, the world's largest baton ever.[1],[2]

[edit] Notable alumni

  • Leroy Anderson '29 (Trombone) was director of the HUB in 1931-5. He also played as an undergraduate beginning in 1926, and was student conductor from 1928-1930.
  • Theodore Kaczynski '62 (Trombone) is also known as the Unabomber. He briefly joined the HUB as a freshman in 1958.
  • Thomas Eugene Everhart '53 (Trombone) was the president of Caltech from 1987-1997.
  • David M. Dobson '91 (Tuba) is the creator of the computer game Snood. As a Tubist, Dobson was known to play Flight of the Bumblebee and also arranged a 3-tuba Pachabel's Canon.

[edit] Repertoire

[edit] Songs

The repertoire consists of traditional Harvard fight songs and their own arrangements of popular songs played for field shows.

Fight Songs

  • 10,000 Men of Harvard
  • Fair Harvard Harvard's Commencement Hymn by Samuel Gilman, Class of 1811 [Revised 1998]
  • Fight Fiercely, Harvard! by Harvard alumnus Tom Lehrer
  • Gridiron King
  • Harvardiana
  • Onward Crimson (Premiered at the 85th Reunion in 2004, written by Joshua Rissmiller '06)
  • Our Director
  • R-A-D
  • Score
  • Soldiers Field
  • Up the Street
  • Veritas
  • Wintergreen
  • Yo-Ho

Unofficial

  • Budweiser (no longer played but formerly popular at Hockey events)
  • Ted Kennedy Song (song in honor of the local senator, Harvard alumnus, and favorite guest conductor)
  • Sieve-Goalie (the tune of Hava Nagila played by the clarinets at hockey games to mock the opposing goalie)
  • Theme from Hawaii Five-O (played during hockey games when Harvard is winning 5-0)
  • Three Blind Mice (formerly played by the tubas when the referees emerge at hockey games, but due to accusations of unsportsmanlike conduct is relegated to a quiet rendition after particularly upsetting judgements against Harvard)
  • The Bagpipe Cheer (the saxophones play "Scotland the Brave" while others dance a traditional Scottish dance)

[edit] Cheers

  • Black Hole Cheer – Used in hockey matches against opposing goalie.
  • "1 2 3 4 Our team can really score, 1 1 1 1, humiliating isn't it?" OR "2 4 6 8 Our team is really great, 1 1 1 1, humiliating isn't it?" – Cheer for Hockey when the score is 4-1 or 8-1, respectively. Also performed in 4-0 and 8-0 versions.
  • "That's all right, That's OK, You'll all work for us some day" – Cheer for when team is losing. Was banned for HUB use by Harvard Administration.
  • "Hey Ref, you suck, we know where you live; Hey ref, we know, where you live... sucks"
  • "One bit, two bits, three bits a buck. Come on, cheerleaders, give us a... Cheer." – tongue-in-cheek praise for the much-maligned Harvard Cheerleading squad. (no longer used as of 2006)
  • "repel them, repel them, make them relinquish the ball" to support the football defensive plays
  • Navy Cheer: "Gooooooooo Har-vard! Beeeeeeeeat ___-___" for all sporting events
  • Safety Cheer: "Hey [opposing school], 3 points is a field goal, two points is a safety, safety school, safety school" alternately: "6 points is a touchdown, etc." (used when Harvard is winning in hockey with a score of 3 to 2 or 6 to 2). It was banned for use by Harvard administration against any non-Ivy League opponent.
  • Sieve Cheer: (while pointing) "Sieve! Sieve! Sieve! (etc.) It's all your fault!" (used at Hockey games against the opposing goalie at the beginning of each period and when Harvard scores; also used when in the case that any obvious mistake is made, for example a flubbed musical entry or note)

Staff cheers These cheers are intended for the band itself, rather than the audience

  • The Flower Cheer – variants: Flour Cheer, Spaghetti Cheer (or any cheer for objects thrown into the HUB section of the stands).
  • The Greek Cheer – a rousing cheer in honor of the new freshmen members of the band.
  • MOM cheer – a cheer for Alice Tondel, aka "MOM". The word "MOM" is spelled backward, forward, and upside-down (WOW).
  • the Humpty Dumpty Cheer, yelled by those in the back of the stands when they can't be heard

[edit] Recordings

  • Harvard University Band, Through The Square - A Tribute To Malcolm H. Homes '28 (1954) E3-KL-5895.
  • Between the Halves with the Harvard Band. (1955). MONO LP. BRIGGS, HB LP 5.

[edit] See also

[edit] Other Ivy League bands

[edit] External links

References

  1. ^ Powell, Alvin (1999). "Stepping Lively at 80, The Band Plays On". Retrieved Mar. 16, 2006.
  2. ^ Spilka, Bill (2004). "32 Years of Tubists at the New York City Brass Conference". Retrieved Mar. 16, 2006.
  3. ^ Baines, Anthony (1993). Brass Instruments : Their History and Development. ISBN 0-486-27574-4. Retrieved Mar. 16, 2006.

Links

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