Cal Poly Mustang Band
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| The Cal Poly Marching Band | |
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| School | California Polytechnic State University |
| Location | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| Conference | Great West / Big West |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Director | William Johnson, Christopher J. Woodruff |
| Members | 130+ |
| Uniform | Dark green wool trousers and coat with green, gold, and white trim, green & gold capes on the left shoulder, white shoes, white gloves, white Shako hats with gold 12" feather plumes |
The Mustang Band, also known as The Pride of the Pacific, is the official marching band of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Although the band is not a competitive marching band they serve as a school spirit organization. The band functions in two different forms throughout the year. In the fall the band marches as The Mustang Marching Band and during Cal Poly's winter quarter they function as a pep band. The band attends many athletic events during the year to encourage the school's athletic teams and audience support/involvement. As of 2006, the marching band is conducted by three directors: William Johnson (the band director), Christopher Woodruff (the associate director), and Len Kawamoto (the assistant director).
Many members of the Mustang Band participate in Iota Pi, Cal Poly's chapter of the national honorary band fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi. Iota Pi continually finds ways to serve the Mustang Band as well as many of the other Cal Poly music ensembles by creating many social events for band members to participate in.
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[edit] History
[edit] Timeline
- 1916: Marching band established.
- 1916: First band director was D.W. Scholosser.
- 1921: First women join the band.
- 1936: Harold P. "Davy" Davidson used white ducks and FFA jackets as uniforms
- 1936: Broke tradition of Sousa marches for football; half time shows began to emphasize popular music
- 1958: Began concert Band tours
- 1960: First women join band since 1921 and first women's band uniforms purchased
- 1961: First Dixieland Band, First Band Day, Lettergirls formed
- 1966: First indoor concert of the Marching Band (Band-O-Rama)
- 1978: Brass Band formed. Marching Band played their first professional basketball game for the LA Lakers at the The Forum.
- 1992: Band suspended.
- 1995: "Stadium" band reinstated; plays in the stands only
- 1996: Full Marching Band reinstated, now known as the Mustang Band
[edit] Directors
- D.W. Schlosser (1916-1919)
- H.M. Whitlock (1919-1925)
- Merritt "Pop" Smith (1926-1936)
- Harold P. "Davy" Davidson (1936-1956)
- Clarence Coughran (1956-1959)
- George Beatie (1959-1963)
- J. Marty Baum (1963-1966)
- William V. Johnson (1966-1992)
Under Johnson's direction the band gained prominence performing in the first indoor Marching Band concert, Band-O-Rama. In 1970 the band performed at professional football games, only to later perform for the L.A. Lakers in 1978. This year also represents the addition of the Brass Band, complimenting the already polished more traditional sections. Johnson is currently the coordinator of instrumental music, also conducting the university Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.Between 1993 and 1995, Johnson served as the President of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE). Preceding his presidency, he was the secretary from 1987 to 1991. Johnson was instrumental in the formation WASBE as the Executive Director for the International Conference for Conductors, Composers and Publishers held in Manchester, an event resulting in the formation of WASBE. Unsurprisingly, Johnson served as the Conference Chairman for the 9th WASBE Conference held in San Luis Obispo, California, July 5-11, 1999. Currently he is the Chairperson of the WASBE Foundation. Johnson received his Bachelor's Degree in music from Indiana University School of Music studying the euphonium with the late William Bell, a former tuba virtuoso of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a life member of Kappa Kappa Psi national band fraternity and is the Sponsor of Cal Poly’s Iota Pi Chapter.[1]
- Alyson McLamore (1992-1995)
- David Rackley (1995-2005)
A native of Modesto, California, Rackley received his bachelor of music and master of arts degrees in theory and composition from San Francisco State University studying conducting with Lazlo Varga, and composition with Luigi Zaninnelli, Roger Nixon, Peter Sacco, Carl Sitton, and Pulitzer Prize winning composer Wayne Peterson. Upon completion of his studies, Rackley entered the United States Air Force Bands and Music Program rising to commander and conductor of Air Force Bands. A published and award winning composer, Rackley has scored video and film productions for the Library of Congress, the A&E Channel, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, and the Discovery Channel. His production music credits include Days of Our Lives, America's Most Wanted, Cheers, Nurses, Picket Fences, L.A. Law, All My Children, General Hospital, Home Improvement, Quantum Leap, and Seinfeld. He has received six Telly Awards, two Onmi Awards, a CINE Golden Eagle Award, the Gold Apple Award from the National Education Media Network, a Gold CINDY from the International Association of Audio-Visual Communicators, and a Bronze Award from the WorldFest-Charleston International Film and Video Competition.[2]
- William V. Johnson (2005-present)
- Christopher J. Woodruff (August 2006-present)
[edit] Marching band season
During football season, the Mustang Band typically fields between 120 and 140 members. The 2007 Marching Band has around 137 marching members. The marching season starts off each year with an annual band camp where each member learns the techniques of marching such as the traditional High Step for the Pre-Game run-on and the glide step used during regular marching. The rest of the band's marching season relies on Tuesday and Thursday rehearsals from 3:10-5:30 pm and some extra weekend rehearsals to perfect their shows.
[edit] Pre-game performance
The Mustang Band plays at every home football game and attends at least one away game per year. Popular travel places are Davis, Sacramento, and San Diego. Before each football game, the march down to Alex G. Spanos Stadium becomes a show in itself. The band marches to Cal Poly’s own traditional drum cadences, such as: Red Dog, Tick Tock, and George, which is by far the most popular. Each section also has their own moves as they progress down to the field. Once the band leaves the music building, they make a stop at the president’s house where they perform a few numbers for the president and his guests. The band then proceeds to the BBQ/Tailgate party, where they perform a few more songs before they make their way down to the field for the pre-game performance. The Pre-Game Show begins with a high-step run-on and at the end of each performance the band plays the Star-Spangled Banner while the ROTC brings the flags to the field. At the conclusion of the national anthem the band marches to the front of the Cal Poly crowd and plays the fight song while the team runs on to the field. This performance is usually the same for each game the marching band attends.
[edit] During the game
During the game the band plays in the stands, drawing from a working library of about 120 tunes (and about 1000 more stashed in the archives). For every touchdown, the band plays the Cal Poly fight song, "Ride High, You Mustangs." For every point after or field goal made, they play "Yea Poly," an old fight song revived in 2007. (Prior to 2007, "Mustang Sally" was played to celebrate field goals.) The band also plays during timeouts and even during play when Cal Poly is on defense (to distract the rival offense).
[edit] Half-time show
The Half-Time Show is the highlight of the marching band performances. The show changes for almost every game and requires a lot of work and practice in order to complete in time. Each half time show consists of at least three pieces which include drill elements written by the drill design committee. At some point during the season, the band gets to perform a special drill. Special Drill is where the band gets to do a uniform dance to the drum cadence.
[edit] Post-game performance
At the conclusion of the game, the band marches down to the football field where they play the fight song and the alma mater while the football team sings along. The band remains stationary and plays select songs as the audience and team leave the stadium.
[edit] Other performances
The Mustang Band performs in three parades during the year: the Homecoming Parade, the Christmas parade and Cal Poly's Open House Parade. The Homecoming and Christmas Parades take place in Downtown San Luis Obispo while the Open House Parade takes place at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo campus. The Mustang Band also performs at the Cal Poly Music Department’s annual Fall Concert entitled Bandfest. Here they join the Cal Poly Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble and play selections from previous performances in the marching season.
[edit] Pep band season
From the end of Cal Poly's fall quarter and throughout winter quarter the marching band transforms into a pep band. During this time of the year, the band is strictly a stadium band and plays during both the women’s and men’s home basketball games and the women’s home volleyball games. The band plays popular tunes, the fight song, alma mater, and the national anthem. The band also changes from traditional marching band uniforms to yellow and green pep band shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes.
On a volunteer basis the pep band also performs at certain events throughout the year such as Cal Poly's Open House and Cal Poly's Week of Welcome (WOW). By playing at the Open House and WOW events the band is able to show themselves to all prospective students, which also makes these events an excellent time for recruitment.
The pep band also attends the volleyball and basketball tournaments. Every March they travel with the basketball teams to Anaheim to perform as a thirty-member ensemble at the Big West Tournament.
[edit] Sections
The Marching Band consists of various sections, broken down by instrument. Each section has a section leader who becomes each particular section's representative. The sections are as follows:
- Piccolos/Flutes: Members are sometimes referred to as "pic chicks" or "pic dicks", depending upon gender
- Clarinets: Known as CPCP, or Cal Poly Clarinet Power
- Saxophones: Includes Alto and Tenor saxophones
- French Horns: Known as MFH, or Marching French Horns
- Trumpets: Known as the C.H.O.P.S.
- BariBones: Includes Baritones/Euphoniums and Trombones
- The trombones are known as the FTS, or Fabulous Trombone Section
- The section as a whole is often called by the conjoined name "Baribones"
- Tubas: Known as HMS, or Heavy Metal Section
[edit] Student officers
The Mustang Band offers several leadership opportunities by having numerous student officer positions such as:
- CEO: the top student representative for the band.
- AEO: the main assistant for the CEO.
- Personnel Manager: takes attendance at all rehearsals and performances and coordinates visits of prospective members.
- Historian: in charge of documenting all of the bands activities. Creates slideshow for the end of the quarter banquet.
- Equipment Manager: assists the Department Technician in maintaining accurate and up-to-date contracts on all state equipment that is on loan to members of the band.
- Facilities Manager: manages setup and teardown crews for rehearsal hall, and rehearsal fields.
- Uniform Manager: manages the uniform crew for distribution and collection of uniform parts, handles minor repairs of uniform parts with uniform crew, and is also responsible for pep band shirts, hats, jackets, etc.
- Librarian: manages library of the band and makes sure that the directors, instructors, drum majors, and show committee members have copies of the score.
- Drum Major and Assistant Drum Major: direct music, lead the band, make sure rehearsals are running smoothly, help teach marching, and assist in learning drill.
- Section Leaders: recruit for their sections, contact new members, watch sections during rehearsals, and represent their section.
[edit] Awards
Every year the AEO puts on an annual band banquet. At this banquet the CEO, drum major, and directors hand out awards to members of the band which showed exceptional progess throughout the season. Some examples are:
- Section of the Year Award: given to the section that has shown extreme hard work and dedication to the marching band.
- Directors’ Award: given to someone that the directors find has worked extremely hard for the betterment of the band.
- Eyeball Award: given by the drum major to a person who always has their eyes on the drum major.
- Most Spirited: given to the person that showed the most enthusiam throughout the season.
- Most Improved Marcher: given to the person that showed the most improvement in their marching skills.
[edit] Songs
[edit] Fight Songs
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Ride High, You Mustangs |
Yea Poly |
[edit] Alma mater
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All Hail Green and Gold |
[edit] External links
- Official Mustang Band homepage
- Cal Poly Mustang Band Alumni
- Kappa Kappa Psi, Iota Pi
- The Official Band Book
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