Cornell Big Red Pep Band
Encyclopedia
The Cornell Big Red Pep Band is Cornell University
's student-run pep band
that performs primarily at Cornell Men's ice hockey
, with frequent appearances at Women's ice hockey, Men's and Women's lacrosse and basketball, and occasional appearances at a diverse array of other events, such as wrestling, soccer, field hockey, building dedications, and other university events.
, with the Marching Band's Drum Major
serving as one of the two conductors, and the Pep Band's Head Manager was simply an elected member of the Marching Band's board.
In November 1985, the Big Red Bands voted to make the Big Red Pep Band a separate organization in order for it to secure its own funding, have more independent direction, and cater to members who weren't necessarily part of the Marching Band. However, there is still much overlap between the two organizations, with a majority of Pep Band members also being involved with the Marching Band, and the elected Pep Band Head Manager serving on the Marching Band's Board. http://mb.bigredbands.org/constitution.php
Beginning in the late nineties, the Pep Band began branching out from playing primarily for hockey games to play at the majority of home men's lacrosse games, numerous basketball games, along with other assorted events. Despite this, the band remains dedicated to hockey, appearing at all home games and a majority of away games.
The band performs at sporting events most weekends, with many weekends in the Spring semester containing two or more events in a single day. If the band is scheduled to perform at two conflicting times, the pep band manager splits the group based upon instrumentation and priority points. Those attending less popular events (e.g. Women's basketball) are rewarded with more priority points than more popular ones (e.g. Men's Ice Hockey.) This gives new members of the band a chance to accumulate priority points quickly and helps assure good instrumentation at less popular events.
In addition, 2 student conductors are elected at the end of each semester to serve for the next semester. http://pepband.bigredbands.org/board.html
However, instrumentation varies depending on availability of members and how many priority points members have accumulated by attending past performances and rehearsals. Due to the extreme academic pressure inherent to an institution as prestigious as Cornell University and student leadership, participation is purely voluntary without any strict attendance policies or lengthy auditions. Despite (or perhaps because of) this relaxed demeanor, the Big Red Pep Band is acknowledged as one of the best pep bands in college hockey http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/Napkins/napkin_0318.htm.
The actual pieces are widely varied, from traditional Cornell songs such as "Give my Regards to Davy
"(the official fight song
), the Alma Mater "Far Above Cayuga's Waters
", and "My Old Cornell", to more modern pieces, such as The Who's
"Pinball Wizard
", "Everybody's Everything", "Rock & Roll part 2
", "España", "Paradise City
", and "Gonna Fly Now
".
The band is also (in)famous for such shenanigans as mockingly greeting the Harvard University
Men's Hockey Team (see Cornell-Harvard hockey rivalry
) with the theme from 'Love Story'
, Michigan State University
and The Ohio State University with "Hail to the Victors," Colorado College
with "DU, Rah!," Boston College
with "The Notre Dame
Victory March," University of Vermont
with "The Baby Elephant Walk" and University of Minnesota
with "On, Wisconsin!
."
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
's student-run pep band
Pep band
A pep band is an ensemble of instrumentalists who play at functions or events with the purpose of entertaining and "pepping" up a crowd. Often members of a pep band are a subset of people from a larger ensemble such as a marching band or a concert band. Pep bands are generally associated with...
that performs primarily at Cornell Men's ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, with frequent appearances at Women's ice hockey, Men's and Women's lacrosse and basketball, and occasional appearances at a diverse array of other events, such as wrestling, soccer, field hockey, building dedications, and other university events.
History
Until 1986, the Big Red Pep Band was a subsidiary of the Cornell Big Red Marching BandCornell Big Red Marching Band
The Cornell Big Red Marching Band is the only traditional marching band in the Ivy League. It performs at all home, and most away, Cornell Football Games...
, with the Marching Band's Drum Major
Drum Major
A drum major is the leader of a marching band, drum and bugle corps, or pipe band, usually positioned at the head of the band or corps. The drum major, who is often dressed in more ornate clothing than the rest of the band or corps, is responsible for providing commands to the ensemble regarding...
serving as one of the two conductors, and the Pep Band's Head Manager was simply an elected member of the Marching Band's board.
In November 1985, the Big Red Bands voted to make the Big Red Pep Band a separate organization in order for it to secure its own funding, have more independent direction, and cater to members who weren't necessarily part of the Marching Band. However, there is still much overlap between the two organizations, with a majority of Pep Band members also being involved with the Marching Band, and the elected Pep Band Head Manager serving on the Marching Band's Board. http://mb.bigredbands.org/constitution.php
Beginning in the late nineties, the Pep Band began branching out from playing primarily for hockey games to play at the majority of home men's lacrosse games, numerous basketball games, along with other assorted events. Despite this, the band remains dedicated to hockey, appearing at all home games and a majority of away games.
Rehearsals and Performances
As of September 2010, the Pep Band rehearses from 4:45-6:00 pm every Tuesday in Barton Hall during the regular fall and spring semesters. Rehearsals are typically run with each of the two conductors taking turns going over one to two sets of three songs each, with a short break in between conductors. Important announcements are made by the pep band manager during this break.The band performs at sporting events most weekends, with many weekends in the Spring semester containing two or more events in a single day. If the band is scheduled to perform at two conflicting times, the pep band manager splits the group based upon instrumentation and priority points. Those attending less popular events (e.g. Women's basketball) are rewarded with more priority points than more popular ones (e.g. Men's Ice Hockey.) This gives new members of the band a chance to accumulate priority points quickly and helps assure good instrumentation at less popular events.
Board and Conductors
Every December, the Pep Band meets and elects the board for the next calendar year. The positions are:- Manager: responsible for all the logistics for the band, including arranging for accommodations, travel, and tickets for away games, and generally being the band's public representative
- Treasurer: responsible for keeping records of band expenditures and formulating budgeting requests in association with the Big Red Bands Alumni Association (BRBAA) and the Cornell Student Assembly Finance Commission
- Librarian: makes sure copies of music are distributed to all members
- Secretary: publicizes Pep Band events and keeps minutes of all board meetings
- Historian: takes pictures and otherwise records or maintains information about the band for posterity
- Equipment Chair: works alongside the Big Red Marching Band equipment chair to maintain or order instruments for the band
In addition, 2 student conductors are elected at the end of each semester to serve for the next semester. http://pepband.bigredbands.org/board.html
Instrumentation
The Pep Band is allocated 51 tickets for home hockey games, and travels with 25 to 41 members to away games. Typical instrumentation for a home hockey game might be as follows :- 12 Trumpets
- 10 Trombones and Baritones
- 8 Saxophones
- 6 Flutes
- 4 Clarinets
- 2 MellophoneMellophoneThe mellophone is a brass instrument that is typically used in place of the horn in marching bands or drum and bugle corps....
s - 5 Percussionists
- 3 Tubas
- 1 Conductor
However, instrumentation varies depending on availability of members and how many priority points members have accumulated by attending past performances and rehearsals. Due to the extreme academic pressure inherent to an institution as prestigious as Cornell University and student leadership, participation is purely voluntary without any strict attendance policies or lengthy auditions. Despite (or perhaps because of) this relaxed demeanor, the Big Red Pep Band is acknowledged as one of the best pep bands in college hockey http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/Napkins/napkin_0318.htm.
Music
The Pep Band takes great pride in having a large and diverse repertoire, much of which consists of custom arrangements done by members of the band. This allows the band to go multiple events before it is necessary to repeat songs, and have enough shorter pieces to perform during stoppages in play to last even triple overtime games without repeating.The actual pieces are widely varied, from traditional Cornell songs such as "Give my Regards to Davy
Give My Regards to Davy
"Give My Regards to Davy" is Cornell University's primary fight song. The song's lyrics were written in 1905 by Charles E. Tourison 1905, W. L. Umstad 1906, and Bill Forbes 1906, a trio of roommates at Beta Theta Pi, and set to the tune of George M. Cohan's "Give My Regards to Broadway"...
"(the official fight song
Fight song
A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
), the Alma Mater "Far Above Cayuga's Waters
Far Above Cayuga's Waters
"Far Above Cayuga's Waters" is Cornell University's alma mater. The lyrics were composed circa 1870 by roommates Archibald Croswell Weeks, 1872, and Wilmot Moses Smith, 1874, and set to the tune of "Annie Lisle", a popular 1857 ballad by H. S. Thompson about a heroine dying of...
", and "My Old Cornell", to more modern pieces, such as The Who's
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
"Pinball Wizard
Pinball Wizard
"Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S...
", "Everybody's Everything", "Rock & Roll part 2
Rock and Roll (Gary Glitter song)
"Rock and Roll", also known as "The Hey Song", is a song performed by British glam rocker Gary Glitter that was released in 1972 as a single and on the album Glitter. Co-written by Glitter and Mike Leander, the song is in two parts: Part 1 is a vocal track reflecting on the history of the genre,...
", "España", "Paradise City
Paradise City
-Personnel:* Axl Rose - lead vocals, synthesizer, whistle* Izzy Stradlin - rhythm guitar, backing vocals, percussion* Slash - lead guitar, backing vocals* Duff McKagan - bass, backing vocals* Steven Adler - drums-Live:...
", and "Gonna Fly Now
Gonna Fly Now
"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky, composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta Little and Nelson Pigford...
".
The band is also (in)famous for such shenanigans as mockingly greeting the Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
Men's Hockey Team (see Cornell-Harvard hockey rivalry
Cornell-Harvard hockey rivalry
The Cornell-Harvard Hockey Game is a men's ice hockey sports rivalry between the Big Red of Cornell University and the Crimson of Harvard University dating back to 1910....
) with the theme from 'Love Story'
(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story
" Love Story" is a popular song published in 1970, with music by Francis Lai and lyrics by Carl Sigman. The song was first introduced as an instrumental theme in the 1970 film Love Story. The lyrics were added after the theme music became popular.-Covers:The song has been covered many times...
, Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
and The Ohio State University with "Hail to the Victors," Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
with "DU, Rah!," Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
with "The 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...
Victory March," University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
with "The Baby Elephant Walk" and University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
with "On, Wisconsin!
On, Wisconsin!
"On, Wisconsin!" is the fight song of the Wisconsin Badgers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With modified lyrics, it is also the official state song of Wisconsin....
."