The Pride of the South
Encyclopedia
The Pride of the South is the name of the marching band
at The University of Mississippi
in Oxford, Mississippi
. The full band plays at all Ole Miss
home football games, and a smaller pep band
is sent to most away games. The full band also travels to Ole Miss bowl games and Starkville, Mississippi
when Mississippi State University
hosts the Egg Bowl
.The University of Mississippi Band has been giving outstanding performances in concert and in support of Ole Miss athletic events since it was organized in 1928. In addition to performing at all home football games and many away games, the marching band has attended numerous bowl games including the Sugar Bowl, the Gator Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, the Independence Bowl, the Peach Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, and more recently the Motor City Bowl in 1997, the Music City Bowl in 2000, the Independence Bowl in 1998, 1999 and 2002, and the Cotton Bowl in 2004, 2009 and 2010.
In addition to the Marching Band there are several "Pep bands" formed out of "The Pride of the South". These Pep bands perform for numerous functions such as pep rallies before each home game. Another extension of the Ole Miss Band is the Ole Miss Basketball band. The basketball band supports both the Rebel and Lady Rebel Basketball teams at all home games after football season, as well as traveling to the SEC and NCAA tournaments annually.
The Ole Miss Band is composed of students from diverse courses of study such as Pre-Med, Criminal Justice, Engineering, Political Science, Journalism and countless others. The Pride of the South offers competitive scholarships for students of every major in the University, contingent upon funding.
Directors
David Willson is in his twentieth year as Director of Bands at the University of Mississippi. Under his leadership the band has developed into a truly outstanding university band and has doubled in membership. A Jackson, MS native who attended Provine High School and the University of Mississippi, Willson has directed bands in Mississippi at Independence, Columbus and Clinton. His bands have consistently won awards at the state and national level. Willson was awarded the A.S.B.D.A. Outstanding Young Band Director Award in 1985 and in 1990 the Mississippi Bandmasters Outstanding Band Director of the Year. Willson worked on the Mississippi Lions All-State Band Staff five times including serving as head director in 1995 when the All-State Band won the international parade in Seoul, Korea. He has served as president of the Mississippi Bandmasters, Mississippi Delta Chapter of Phi Beta Mu, the state chair of C.B.D.N.A., and served four years on the N.F.I.M.A. national board. He is now currently serving as the International President of Phi Beta Mu. Willson is active nationally as a conductor, adjudicator and speaker. Willson conducts the UM Wind Ensemble and instructs music education and various courses within the music department. His “Band Calisthenics” and “Starting Beginning Bands” books are used extensively throughout the Mid-South. Willson was the 2005-2006 recipient of the Frist award for outstanding service to students and is the 2006-2007 recipient of the Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award for the University of Mississippi.
Dr. Bill DeJournett is in his eighth year as the Associate Director of Bands at the University of Mississippi. Recently named the eleventh director of the "Pride of the South" marching band beginning in the fall of 2010, he also conducts the "Rebel Rebound Sound" basketball band, conducts the UM Symphonic band, and teaches courses within the music department. Prior to coming to Ole Miss, DeJournett was Director of Athletic Bands at Colorado State University and at Elon University in North Carolina. Dr. DeJournett has also taught in the public schools of Alabama and Georgia. He possesses degrees from the David L. Walters Department of Music at Jacksonville State University, Northern Illinois University, and the University of Mississippi.
Dr. DeJournett is the author of "Brass Secrets", and his articles have appeared in the Instrumentalist, Fanfare, the NFIMA Journal and the NACWPI Journal. He has presented his research at professional conferences throughout the Southeast and in Seattle, Washington. His professional associations include Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Kappa Kappa Psi
, Omicron Delta Kappa
, the Mississippi Bandmaster Association, Music Educators National Conference, the College Music Society and the College Band Directors' National Association, and has served as state chair for the National Band Association. Dr. DeJournett has conducted honor bands and adjudicated concert festivals in Mississippi, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, West Virginia and Saskatchewan. He has earned a reputation as a respected marching band adjudicator having judged numerous contests in Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado, Mississippi and Arkansas and is currently sanctioned by the USSBA. DeJournett is a former member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps and a former member of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps of Rockford/Loves Park, Illinois, and has instructed various drum corps at the Open Class and World Class levels.
Randy Dale is in his second year as the Assistant Director of Bands at Ole Miss. Dale earned a Bachelor’s degree in music education from The University of Mississippi in 2001. He served with the Ole Miss Band as a graduate assistant for one year before becoming the Director of Bands at the Southern Baptist Educational Center in Southaven, Mississippi in 2002. Dale continued studying through the University of Mississippi to earn his Masters degree in Music Education in 2005. Dale holds memberships in The Music Educators’ National Conference (MENC), The Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and The Texas Music Educators’ Association (TMEA).
In eight years as the Director of Bands at SBEC (Southern Baptist Education Center) located in Southaven, MS, Dale was able to produce outstanding results that were unprecedented for the program. Under his direction the band tripled in size and won numerous awards and superior ratings at marching contests throughout Mississippi and Tennessee. Dale has produced students that have made the Mississippi Lions All-State Band and who have participated in World Class drum and bugle corps. Dale serves as an adjudicator for marching band competitions and indoor percussion competitions throughout Mississippi and Tennessee.
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...
at The University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....
. The full band plays at all Ole Miss
Ole Miss Rebels football
The football history of the University of Mississippi , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football's all-time winning programs...
home football games, and a smaller 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...
is sent to most away games. The full band also travels to Ole Miss bowl games and Starkville, Mississippi
Starkville, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 21,869 people, 9,462 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 851.4 people per square mile . There were 10,191 housing units at an average density of 396.7 per square mile...
when Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
hosts the Egg Bowl
Egg Bowl
The Battle for the Golden Egg, also known as the Egg Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between played annually by the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team of Mississippi State University and the Ole Miss Rebels football team of the University of Mississippi . The rivalry is...
.The University of Mississippi Band has been giving outstanding performances in concert and in support of Ole Miss athletic events since it was organized in 1928. In addition to performing at all home football games and many away games, the marching band has attended numerous bowl games including the Sugar Bowl, the Gator Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, the Independence Bowl, the Peach Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, and more recently the Motor City Bowl in 1997, the Music City Bowl in 2000, the Independence Bowl in 1998, 1999 and 2002, and the Cotton Bowl in 2004, 2009 and 2010.
In addition to the Marching Band there are several "Pep bands" formed out of "The Pride of the South". These Pep bands perform for numerous functions such as pep rallies before each home game. Another extension of the Ole Miss Band is the Ole Miss Basketball band. The basketball band supports both the Rebel and Lady Rebel Basketball teams at all home games after football season, as well as traveling to the SEC and NCAA tournaments annually.
The Ole Miss Band is composed of students from diverse courses of study such as Pre-Med, Criminal Justice, Engineering, Political Science, Journalism and countless others. The Pride of the South offers competitive scholarships for students of every major in the University, contingent upon funding.
Directors
David Willson is in his twentieth year as Director of Bands at the University of Mississippi. Under his leadership the band has developed into a truly outstanding university band and has doubled in membership. A Jackson, MS native who attended Provine High School and the University of Mississippi, Willson has directed bands in Mississippi at Independence, Columbus and Clinton. His bands have consistently won awards at the state and national level. Willson was awarded the A.S.B.D.A. Outstanding Young Band Director Award in 1985 and in 1990 the Mississippi Bandmasters Outstanding Band Director of the Year. Willson worked on the Mississippi Lions All-State Band Staff five times including serving as head director in 1995 when the All-State Band won the international parade in Seoul, Korea. He has served as president of the Mississippi Bandmasters, Mississippi Delta Chapter of Phi Beta Mu, the state chair of C.B.D.N.A., and served four years on the N.F.I.M.A. national board. He is now currently serving as the International President of Phi Beta Mu. Willson is active nationally as a conductor, adjudicator and speaker. Willson conducts the UM Wind Ensemble and instructs music education and various courses within the music department. His “Band Calisthenics” and “Starting Beginning Bands” books are used extensively throughout the Mid-South. Willson was the 2005-2006 recipient of the Frist award for outstanding service to students and is the 2006-2007 recipient of the Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award for the University of Mississippi.
Dr. Bill DeJournett is in his eighth year as the Associate Director of Bands at the University of Mississippi. Recently named the eleventh director of the "Pride of the South" marching band beginning in the fall of 2010, he also conducts the "Rebel Rebound Sound" basketball band, conducts the UM Symphonic band, and teaches courses within the music department. Prior to coming to Ole Miss, DeJournett was Director of Athletic Bands at Colorado State University and at Elon University in North Carolina. Dr. DeJournett has also taught in the public schools of Alabama and Georgia. He possesses degrees from the David L. Walters Department of Music at Jacksonville State University, Northern Illinois University, and the University of Mississippi.
Dr. DeJournett is the author of "Brass Secrets", and his articles have appeared in the Instrumentalist, Fanfare, the NFIMA Journal and the NACWPI Journal. He has presented his research at professional conferences throughout the Southeast and in Seattle, Washington. His professional associations include Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi is a fraternity for college and university band members. It was founded on November 27, 1919 at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater, Oklahoma. William Scroggs, now regarded as the "Founder," together with "Mr. Kappa Kappa Psi" A...
, Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa, or ΟΔΚ, also known as The Circle, or more commonly ODK, is a national leadership honor society. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, by 15 student and faculty leaders. Chapters, known as Circles, are located on over 300...
, the Mississippi Bandmaster Association, Music Educators National Conference, the College Music Society and the College Band Directors' National Association, and has served as state chair for the National Band Association. Dr. DeJournett has conducted honor bands and adjudicated concert festivals in Mississippi, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, West Virginia and Saskatchewan. He has earned a reputation as a respected marching band adjudicator having judged numerous contests in Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado, Mississippi and Arkansas and is currently sanctioned by the USSBA. DeJournett is a former member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps and a former member of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps of Rockford/Loves Park, Illinois, and has instructed various drum corps at the Open Class and World Class levels.
Randy Dale is in his second year as the Assistant Director of Bands at Ole Miss. Dale earned a Bachelor’s degree in music education from The University of Mississippi in 2001. He served with the Ole Miss Band as a graduate assistant for one year before becoming the Director of Bands at the Southern Baptist Educational Center in Southaven, Mississippi in 2002. Dale continued studying through the University of Mississippi to earn his Masters degree in Music Education in 2005. Dale holds memberships in The Music Educators’ National Conference (MENC), The Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and The Texas Music Educators’ Association (TMEA).
In eight years as the Director of Bands at SBEC (Southern Baptist Education Center) located in Southaven, MS, Dale was able to produce outstanding results that were unprecedented for the program. Under his direction the band tripled in size and won numerous awards and superior ratings at marching contests throughout Mississippi and Tennessee. Dale has produced students that have made the Mississippi Lions All-State Band and who have participated in World Class drum and bugle corps. Dale serves as an adjudicator for marching band competitions and indoor percussion competitions throughout Mississippi and Tennessee.