Band of the Fighting Irish
Encyclopedia
The Band of the Fighting Irish is the marching band
of the University of Notre Dame
. The over 380 members of the band represent nearly every field of study, and include students from all fifty states as well as from overseas. Band members are consistently seen as distinguished members of the university community and serve as ambassadors of the unique "Spirit of Notre Dame" through their music and pagentry.
The band performs at all home football games and pep rallies. A typical home game schedule commences on Friday afternoon when the band marches out from the Main Building to their rehearsal field for a final run-through of their field show, to the delight of onlookers. Following practice, the band marches from the Band Building to the Edmund P. Joyce Center
to perform for the pep rally, energizing students and fans alike. At midnight, students and fans alike gather in front of the main building for the energizing "Drummer's Circle" performed by the drum line to prepare the student body for the following day's events.
Saturday morning commences with an early morning march about campus as a traditional way to "wake-up" students across campus in preparation for game day festivities. Once arriving at the Loftus Indoor Sports Facility, the band practices their field show once more and thereafter convenes for lunch, often performing various songs for special banquets held in the South Dining Hall at this time.
The day continues with a "Concert on the Steps" at Bond Hall, the Architecture Building, as the band performs traditional tunes as well as the half-time field show music in stand-still performance, galvanizing the large crowds surrounding the building. Directly following this performance is the traditional "Trumpets in the Dome" performance.
Next, approximately half-an-hour before kick-off, the band steps off from in front of the Main Building for their traditional march to the stadium, led by the Cheerleaders and Irish Guard
, the band parades down the streets, lined by fans clapping and cheering the Irish onwards to victory.
After performing for pre-game festivities, their half-time show, and the post-game show, the band makes a triumphant march back to the band building after the game, and awaits preparations for the upcoming game day and the next opportunity to support their Fighting Irish football team.
Glockenspiels (bells) used to march at the front of the band, and for several years during the 1970s and 1980s, the rolling tympani led the band onto the field.
. This group of precision marchers was formed in 1949 when then Director H. Lee Hope conceived the idea of adding color to the band while maintaining the dignity befitting the nation’s oldest university band. The Guard was meant to be impressive and as such each member was required to be a minimum of six feet, two inches tall-a regulation still in effect today.
Unique in the tradition of the Irish Guard
is the uniform, which was patterned after the traditional Irish kilt. According to Irish historian, Seumas Uah Urthuile, laws were introduced in Ireland about 1000 A.D. concerning the use of colors in clothing. Colors were used to distinguish between various occupations, military rank
and the various stages of the social and political spectrum.
During the first few years, the Irish Guard
performed on bagpipes. Performances included a variety of Irish tunes as well as several school songs. Prior to each home football game, the Guard would perform around the concourse
of the stadium, as well as other areas on campus. Performing on bagpipes
was discontinued around 1954.
with directors and the music department to effectively communicate the needs of their constituents, the band members they serve. They are instrumental in preserving the traditions of the band throughout time and help ensure that each and every performer within the band program is enjoying themselves and has adequate support from the directors and staff of the program.
core upon which the rest of the band relies for guidance and instruction. These experienced women and men run and conduct the band's annual "Band Camp
" held before the beginning of classes, a four day course of marching immersion and an audition process in which CORE Band members instruct auditionees and returners in the musical and marching techniques, pageantry, and spirit unique to the Notre Dame Band. These leaders, in addition to individual section leaders, form a dedicated group of management professionals throughout the entire season, serving as mentors and teachers for their section members.
. He is a graduate of the University of Houston
, where he holds a Doctorate in Music Education and a Master's in Business Administration. He has also earned degrees of Master of Arts in Music from California State University
and Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California
where he marched in the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band. As a composer/arranger, Ken Dye serves as a staff writer for several publishers and served as composer/arranger for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Band and pops arranger for the Dallas Symphony. His writing activities have produced over 1200 works for band and orchestra performed throughout the U.S. and overseas. Dye's recent composition "Welcome to Beijing," an Olympic Suite for Band, premiered in the Beijing Concert Hall
in May 2008. The Olympic Suite is also featured in the 2008 Olympic Arts Festival performed by the Beijing schools.
In addition Dye serves as a concurrent professor of Computer Applications. His course "Music through Technology" examines the historical influence of technology on the creative process of music. Dr. Dye also teaches music from a business perspective in a course entitled "The Business of Music," a synergistic history of music and business. Prior to Notre Dame, Dr Dye served as Director of Bands at Rice University
for 17 years and 14 years as conductor of the Houston Concert Band. In addition to his experience in Texas, he was Director of Bands at State University of West Georgia, Assistant Band Director for the 1984 Olympics
, and taught public high school at Artesia High School in Lakewood, California
. He has also served as director of the Opening Ceremonies of the U.S. Olympic Festival and conductor of the All-American College Band at Disney World. Ken Dye serves as a music director of numerous special events as well as a clinician and adjudicator throughout North America and the South Pacific.
. Mr. Sanchez is responsible designing all of the halftime drills for the Notre Dame Band. He also serves as the percussion coordinator, shares the conducting responsibilities of the concert bands and basketball bands, specializes in areas of music technology and sound recording and organizes the percussion ensembles and winter drumline program. Mr. Sanchez is the recipient of the 1997 Outstanding Band Member Award from the Notre Dame Band.
René Rosas joins the Notre Dame Band Staff from Naperville, IL where he taught the bands and general music courses at St. Raphael Catholic School and the band at Ss. Peter and Paul School. Although he resides in the South Bend community he will commute to Illinois as he continues his duties as the Assistant Conductor of the Naperville Municipal Band. A graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso with the Bachelor of Music Education degree, Mr. Rosas began a successful teaching career at Andress High School in the El Paso Independent School District. His marching band was a four year consecutive Grand Champion at the New Mexico State University Tournament of Bands and the band program received six consecutive Texas Sweepstakes Awards. He then earned the Master of Science in Music Education degree from the University of Illinois where he served as a teaching assistant for the University Bands. Mr. Rosas also served as the Assistant Director of Bands/Marching Band Director at the University of Florida and Illinois State University.
Matthew Merten is a graduate of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota where he earned a degree in Music Education and Trombone
Performance. After teaching in the public schools of Saint Cloud and Albany (MN), he earned a Master of Music in Trombone Performance and Literature from the University of Notre Dame
. He has performed with the St. Cloud Amadeus Orchestra (MN), Minnesota Center Chorale, and Regis Philbin
’s Pop Orchestra. At Notre Dame he directs the New Orleans Brass Band, Trumpet Ensemble, Trombone Choir, co-directs the Brass Ensemble, Jazz Bands and teaches applied trombone lessons.
Mr. Merten is very active in music technology
at Notre Dame. In addition to teaching portions of the Music Through Technology Course, he offers private instruction in multi-track recording and software synthesizers. He is also responsible for the production of the Band’s audio recordings.
Alison Thigpen-Redar is a graduate of The University of Georgia
where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree. She earned a Master of Music in Music Education degree with performance emphasis from the University of South Carolina
. While at South Carolina, Alison served as a graduate assistant with the band program and co-conducted the University Band and Basketball Band, and assisted with the 270 member Carolina Marching Band. At Notre Dame, Alison co-directs the University Band and Symphonic Band, directs the Flute
and Clarinet
Choirs, oversees the Bandlink program, and teaches clarinet lessons. Alison came to the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 2007.
Lawrence Dwyer is a graduate of Notre Dame, where he was Outstanding Bandsman (1966), trombone soloist all four years with the concert band, and twice named “Best Trombonist” at the Collegiate Jazz Festival. He earned his Masters degree in music education and did doctoral studies at the University of Illinois. Dwyer has been principal trombonist of the South Bend Symphony Pops Orchestra, pianist with his own jazz trio, and has performed with such jazz greats as Thad Jones
, Clark Terry
, Sonny Stitt
, and Sarah Vaughan
. Among his jazz band compositions are a religious trilogy: The Old Beelzebub Blues, Lord Save the Sinner, and The Abha Kingdom. His orchestral arrangements of the music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and others have been performed and recorded by the South Bend Symphony, Houston Pops, Utah Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Mr. Dwyer taught band and jazz band in the South Bend public schools, and was director of jazz studies at Concordia University
in Montreal.
, C.S.C., who founded the University in 1842, is strongly rumored to have been a clarinet player. And while it is possible that the Notre Dame Band and musical studies originated with the University that same year, the earliest reference to the band is in 1846 when it played at the first graduation ceremony. The importance of music on campus also caused a Music Hall/Auditorium to be built as the third major building of the new school after the classroom/dormitory building (The Golden Dome) and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Indiana
. The legendary football coach, Knute Rockne
, played flute for Notre Dame, and former Athletic Director Edward Moose Krause spent some years studying music before putting his clarinet on the shelf and devoting himself to athletics.
The University of Notre Dame
Band is the oldest college band (in continuous existence) in the United States and was honored as such by being declared a "Landmark of American Music" by the National Music Council, the Indiana Music Educators Association and Exxon Corporation during the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial.
The Band of the Fighting Irish has a long tradition of providing music and pageantry for the Notre Dame football games. It was on hand for the first game against the University of Michigan
in 1887 and has not missed a single home game since. The Notre Dame Band was celebrating its forty-first anniversary when that historic first game was played.
The Notre Dame Band has always been a very active organization. Its early purpose was apparently to lift the spirits of students and provide entertainment on special occasions. The Band has also been on hand to witness many highs and lows in American history. It played at the University's "Main Circle" as students left to join the armies both North and South during the American Civil War
. The Band played at the circle whenever students left to fight in World War I
, World War II
, Korea and Vietnam, and played a benefit concert for the victims of the Great Chicago Fire
in 1871. The band has played around the country and around the world for countless concerts, masses, graduations, civic functions, bowl games, parades, athletic contests and many, many national championships. In recent years the Band has traveled to Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Penn State, West Virginia, Tennessee and Florida State. Bowl appearances have included the Fiesta Bowl, Gator Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, and most recently the Sun Bowl.
The Notre Dame Marching Band has also partnered with OK Go
in the making of the composition and music video for "This Too Shall Pass
", appearing throughout the majority of the video in ghillie suits.
In May 2010, the Notre Dame Concert Band performed in Carnegie Hall
in New York City
; Regis Philbin
conducted the Victory March.
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
of the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. The over 380 members of the band represent nearly every field of study, and include students from all fifty states as well as from overseas. Band members are consistently seen as distinguished members of the university community and serve as ambassadors of the unique "Spirit of Notre Dame" through their music and pagentry.
Performances
Edmund P. Joyce Center
The Joyce Center is a 9,800-seat multi-purpose arena in Notre Dame, Indiana just north of South Bend, Indiana. The arena opened in 1968. It is home to the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball and volleyball teams...
to perform for the pep rally, energizing students and fans alike. At midnight, students and fans alike gather in front of the main building for the energizing "Drummer's Circle" performed by the drum line to prepare the student body for the following day's events.
Saturday morning commences with an early morning march about campus as a traditional way to "wake-up" students across campus in preparation for game day festivities. Once arriving at the Loftus Indoor Sports Facility, the band practices their field show once more and thereafter convenes for lunch, often performing various songs for special banquets held in the South Dining Hall at this time.
The day continues with a "Concert on the Steps" at Bond Hall, the Architecture Building, as the band performs traditional tunes as well as the half-time field show music in stand-still performance, galvanizing the large crowds surrounding the building. Directly following this performance is the traditional "Trumpets in the Dome" performance.
Next, approximately half-an-hour before kick-off, the band steps off from in front of the Main Building for their traditional march to the stadium, led by the Cheerleaders and Irish Guard
Irish Guard
The Irish Guard is a group of uniformed students that leads the Band of the Fighting Irish onto the field at home games. They are considered one of the integral parts in the pageantry, lore, and legend of Notre Dame football.-History:...
, the band parades down the streets, lined by fans clapping and cheering the Irish onwards to victory.
After performing for pre-game festivities, their half-time show, and the post-game show, the band makes a triumphant march back to the band building after the game, and awaits preparations for the upcoming game day and the next opportunity to support their Fighting Irish football team.
Rehearsal Schedule
The Marching Band rehearses for the duration of the fall semester on Mondays from 5:45-7:15 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Fridays before home games include a marchout at 4:30 p.m from the Main Building, a rehearsal at 4:45 p.m., and the pep rally at 6:30 p.m. Saturdays have varying schedules depending on the start of the football game.Instrumentation
The band is composed of nine main sections: the baritones, basses, clarinets, saxophones, drumline, faltos (mellophones, or f-alto horns), piccolos, trombones, and trumpets, with a membership of over 380. The instrumentation of the drumline is further broken down into snare drums, bass drums, tenor drums, cymbals, and mallets. The mallets include both marching xylophones and bells. The saxophone section includes alto and tenor saxophones only. Each instrument provides a vital timbre that contributes to the unique sound of the Notre Dame Band.Glockenspiels (bells) used to march at the front of the band, and for several years during the 1970s and 1980s, the rolling tympani led the band onto the field.
Irish Guard
Each football Saturday, the Band of the Fighting Irish is led onto the field for it’s traditional pre-game salute by the celebrated Irish GuardIrish Guard
The Irish Guard is a group of uniformed students that leads the Band of the Fighting Irish onto the field at home games. They are considered one of the integral parts in the pageantry, lore, and legend of Notre Dame football.-History:...
. This group of precision marchers was formed in 1949 when then Director H. Lee Hope conceived the idea of adding color to the band while maintaining the dignity befitting the nation’s oldest university band. The Guard was meant to be impressive and as such each member was required to be a minimum of six feet, two inches tall-a regulation still in effect today.
Unique in the tradition of the Irish Guard
Irish Guard
The Irish Guard is a group of uniformed students that leads the Band of the Fighting Irish onto the field at home games. They are considered one of the integral parts in the pageantry, lore, and legend of Notre Dame football.-History:...
is the uniform, which was patterned after the traditional Irish kilt. According to Irish historian, Seumas Uah Urthuile, laws were introduced in Ireland about 1000 A.D. concerning the use of colors in clothing. Colors were used to distinguish between various occupations, military rank
Military rank
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...
and the various stages of the social and political spectrum.
During the first few years, the Irish Guard
Irish Guard
The Irish Guard is a group of uniformed students that leads the Band of the Fighting Irish onto the field at home games. They are considered one of the integral parts in the pageantry, lore, and legend of Notre Dame football.-History:...
performed on bagpipes. Performances included a variety of Irish tunes as well as several school songs. Prior to each home football game, the Guard would perform around the concourse
Concourse
A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space.-Examples:Examples of concourses include:* Meeting halls* Universities* Railway stations...
of the stadium, as well as other areas on campus. Performing on bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
was discontinued around 1954.
Officers
The band has an executive committee of officers who represent the band's interests and work collaboratively to establish a working dialogueDialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
with directors and the music department to effectively communicate the needs of their constituents, the band members they serve. They are instrumental in preserving the traditions of the band throughout time and help ensure that each and every performer within the band program is enjoying themselves and has adequate support from the directors and staff of the program.
CORE Band
In addition, the band also has a committed group of veteran marchers known as the CORE Band who compose the strong, central leadershipLeadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
core upon which the rest of the band relies for guidance and instruction. These experienced women and men run and conduct the band's annual "Band Camp
Band camp
A band camp typically refers to a high school, college, or university marching band summer camp. Band camp is often mandatory for members of the band, and constitutes the majority of the preparation a marching band makes before its marching season...
" held before the beginning of classes, a four day course of marching immersion and an audition process in which CORE Band members instruct auditionees and returners in the musical and marching techniques, pageantry, and spirit unique to the Notre Dame Band. These leaders, in addition to individual section leaders, form a dedicated group of management professionals throughout the entire season, serving as mentors and teachers for their section members.
Band Managers
The band is also privileged to have an upbeat and resourceful cadre of Band Managers who assist the band with daily practices, providing water, equipment, props, and other logistical support duties to ensure the band functions as a well-oiled machine.Director
Kenneth W. Dye, is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. He is a graduate of the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, where he holds a Doctorate in Music Education and a Master's in Business Administration. He has also earned degrees of Master of Arts in Music from California State University
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
and Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
where he marched in the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band. As a composer/arranger, Ken Dye serves as a staff writer for several publishers and served as composer/arranger for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Band and pops arranger for the Dallas Symphony. His writing activities have produced over 1200 works for band and orchestra performed throughout the U.S. and overseas. Dye's recent composition "Welcome to Beijing," an Olympic Suite for Band, premiered in the Beijing Concert Hall
Beijing Concert Hall
The Beijing Concert Hall is located on the Beixinhuajie in Xicheng District, near the west Chang'an Avenue, on the south of Liubukou....
in May 2008. The Olympic Suite is also featured in the 2008 Olympic Arts Festival performed by the Beijing schools.
In addition Dye serves as a concurrent professor of Computer Applications. His course "Music through Technology" examines the historical influence of technology on the creative process of music. Dr. Dye also teaches music from a business perspective in a course entitled "The Business of Music," a synergistic history of music and business. Prior to Notre Dame, Dr Dye served as Director of Bands at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
for 17 years and 14 years as conductor of the Houston Concert Band. In addition to his experience in Texas, he was Director of Bands at State University of West Georgia, Assistant Band Director for the 1984 Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
, and taught public high school at Artesia High School in Lakewood, California
Lakewood, California
Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, and Hawaiian Gardens on the southeast. Major thoroughfares...
. He has also served as director of the Opening Ceremonies of the U.S. Olympic Festival and conductor of the All-American College Band at Disney World. Ken Dye serves as a music director of numerous special events as well as a clinician and adjudicator throughout North America and the South Pacific.
Assistant Directors
Samuel Sanchez is an Assistant Director with the Notre Dame Band Program. He became an assistant director following four years of undergraduate study in Percussion performance and 2 years of graduate study in MusicologyMusicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
. Mr. Sanchez is responsible designing all of the halftime drills for the Notre Dame Band. He also serves as the percussion coordinator, shares the conducting responsibilities of the concert bands and basketball bands, specializes in areas of music technology and sound recording and organizes the percussion ensembles and winter drumline program. Mr. Sanchez is the recipient of the 1997 Outstanding Band Member Award from the Notre Dame Band.
René Rosas joins the Notre Dame Band Staff from Naperville, IL where he taught the bands and general music courses at St. Raphael Catholic School and the band at Ss. Peter and Paul School. Although he resides in the South Bend community he will commute to Illinois as he continues his duties as the Assistant Conductor of the Naperville Municipal Band. A graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso with the Bachelor of Music Education degree, Mr. Rosas began a successful teaching career at Andress High School in the El Paso Independent School District. His marching band was a four year consecutive Grand Champion at the New Mexico State University Tournament of Bands and the band program received six consecutive Texas Sweepstakes Awards. He then earned the Master of Science in Music Education degree from the University of Illinois where he served as a teaching assistant for the University Bands. Mr. Rosas also served as the Assistant Director of Bands/Marching Band Director at the University of Florida and Illinois State University.
Matthew Merten is a graduate of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota where he earned a degree in Music Education and Trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
Performance. After teaching in the public schools of Saint Cloud and Albany (MN), he earned a Master of Music in Trombone Performance and Literature from the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. He has performed with the St. Cloud Amadeus Orchestra (MN), Minnesota Center Chorale, and Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
’s Pop Orchestra. At Notre Dame he directs the New Orleans Brass Band, Trumpet Ensemble, Trombone Choir, co-directs the Brass Ensemble, Jazz Bands and teaches applied trombone lessons.
Mr. Merten is very active in music technology
Music technology
Music technology is a term that refers to all forms of technology involved with the musical arts, particularly the use of electronic devices and computer software to facilitate playback, recording, composition, storage and performance. This subject is taught at many different educational levels,...
at Notre Dame. In addition to teaching portions of the Music Through Technology Course, he offers private instruction in multi-track recording and software synthesizers. He is also responsible for the production of the Band’s audio recordings.
Alison Thigpen-Redar is a graduate of The University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree. She earned a Master of Music in Music Education degree with performance emphasis from the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
. While at South Carolina, Alison served as a graduate assistant with the band program and co-conducted the University Band and Basketball Band, and assisted with the 270 member Carolina Marching Band. At Notre Dame, Alison co-directs the University Band and Symphonic Band, directs the Flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and Clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
Choirs, oversees the Bandlink program, and teaches clarinet lessons. Alison came to the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 2007.
Lawrence Dwyer is a graduate of Notre Dame, where he was Outstanding Bandsman (1966), trombone soloist all four years with the concert band, and twice named “Best Trombonist” at the Collegiate Jazz Festival. He earned his Masters degree in music education and did doctoral studies at the University of Illinois. Dwyer has been principal trombonist of the South Bend Symphony Pops Orchestra, pianist with his own jazz trio, and has performed with such jazz greats as Thad Jones
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.-Biography:Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten . Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen...
, Clark Terry
Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
, Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt
Edward "Sonny" Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was also one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums in his lifetime...
, and Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
. Among his jazz band compositions are a religious trilogy: The Old Beelzebub Blues, Lord Save the Sinner, and The Abha Kingdom. His orchestral arrangements of the music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and others have been performed and recorded by the South Bend Symphony, Houston Pops, Utah Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Mr. Dwyer taught band and jazz band in the South Bend public schools, and was director of jazz studies at Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
in Montreal.
The Oldest Band in the Land
There has always been a close and affectionate tie between the Notre Dame Band and the rest of the Notre Dame community. Rev. Edward SorinEdward Sorin
The Very Rev. Edward Frederick Sorin, C.S.C. , a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross was the founder of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and of St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.-Youth:...
, C.S.C., who founded the University in 1842, is strongly rumored to have been a clarinet player. And while it is possible that the Notre Dame Band and musical studies originated with the University that same year, the earliest reference to the band is in 1846 when it played at the first graduation ceremony. The importance of music on campus also caused a Music Hall/Auditorium to be built as the third major building of the new school after the classroom/dormitory building (The Golden Dome) and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Indiana
Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Indiana
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Notre Dame, Indiana, is a Catholic Church on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, also serving as the mother church of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the United States. The neo-gothic church features 44 large stained glass windows and murals completed...
. The legendary football coach, Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
, played flute for Notre Dame, and former Athletic Director Edward Moose Krause spent some years studying music before putting his clarinet on the shelf and devoting himself to athletics.
The University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
Band is the oldest college band (in continuous existence) in the United States and was honored as such by being declared a "Landmark of American Music" by the National Music Council, the Indiana Music Educators Association and Exxon Corporation during the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial.
The Band of the Fighting Irish has a long tradition of providing music and pageantry for the Notre Dame football games. It was on hand for the first game against the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1887 and has not missed a single home game since. The Notre Dame Band was celebrating its forty-first anniversary when that historic first game was played.
Appearances
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The Band played at the circle whenever students left to fight in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Korea and Vietnam, and played a benefit concert for the victims of the Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
in 1871. The band has played around the country and around the world for countless concerts, masses, graduations, civic functions, bowl games, parades, athletic contests and many, many national championships. In recent years the Band has traveled to Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Penn State, West Virginia, Tennessee and Florida State. Bowl appearances have included the Fiesta Bowl, Gator Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, and most recently the Sun Bowl.
The Notre Dame Marching Band has also partnered with OK Go
OK Go
OK Go is a rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, USA, now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA. The band is composed of Damian Kulash , Tim Nordwind , Dan Konopka and Andy Ross , who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan...
in the making of the composition and music video for "This Too Shall Pass
This Too Shall Pass (song)
"This Too Shall Pass" is an alternative rock song by OK Go from the album Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. The single was released in January 2010. The band took the unorthodox route of creating two official music videos for the song, both of which premiered on YouTube. The first features a live...
", appearing throughout the majority of the video in ghillie suits.
In May 2010, the Notre Dame Concert Band performed in Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
conducted the Victory March.