60th Annual Marching Band Indoor Concert Student Matinee Pre-event Video Transcript

Welcome to Northrop at the University of Minnesota

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Please turn off your phone before the performance starts.

Concert Guidelines

Join the fun by clapping and singing along.

Keep your fee off the seats.

When the band leaders are speaking it is important to be quiet and listen.

Well-fitted Masks Required in this area. The mask should cover the nose and mouth, wrap under the chin, and not have any noticable gaps.

Stop the spread of Covid-19. Please keep a distance from those not in your group.

Did You Know?

Exposure to the arts help K-12 students perform higher on standardized tests and achieve higher GPAs. Source: 2019 Report provided by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts through study results of 2016 by Creative MN

It's a Minnesota law that K-12 schools provide arts education to students for a more well-rounded education. Source: 2019 Report provided by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts through study results of 2016 by Creative MN 

We welcome The University of Minnesota Marching Band, also known as The Pride of Minnesota, to the Northrop Stage!

The U of M Marching Band shows school spirit and pride through their music, cheers, chants, parades, and performances all throughout the year. 

The Marching Band supports the athletic teams at the U of M. Their incredible halftime shows on the football field are a fan favorite!

Athletic Team Name

U of M athletic teams are named the Golden Gophers.

Meet the U of M Mascot

Goldy Gopher

Uniforms

The U of M Marching Band wears maroon and gold uniforms, the official colors of the University of Minnesota.

What Does the Pride Study?

You don't have to be a music major to play in the marching band. Students study all sorts of different subjects. 

92% are non-music majors. 37% Science & Engineering. 35% Liberal Arts. 11% Biological Sciences. 8% Music. 5% Education & Human Development. 5% Food, Ag, & Natural Resource Sciences. 4% Carlson School of Management. 3% Design, Nursing, Continuing & Professional Studies. 

Fun Fact 

The U of M Marching Band performed at the Super Bowl LII halftime show with Justin Timberlake.

Marching Band Members

The first U of M Marching Band had 29 members when it began in 1892. Today there are 320 members!

Where Does the Pride Reside?

U of M Marching Band students come from all over the United States! 

Meet the Marching Band Director

Betsy McCann is the Marching Band director. She is the first female head director at the U of M.

The drum major is the heartbeat of the U of M Marching Band and is a musician, conductor, leader, performer, and role model.

Meet the Drum Major

Meet U of M Marching Band Drum Major Julie White! She is the second female Drum Major in the history of the band.

Meet The Block Captain 

Meet Block Captain Neil Garcia; the second in command to the drum major and serves as a performer and teacher. 

Baton Twirlers

The U of M has three Feature Baton Twirlers, the Feature Twirler, traditionally accompanied by the Maroon Twirler and the Gold Twirler.

Instruments in the U of M Marching Band

The U of M Marching Band consists of brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments.

Woodwind instruments

All woodwinds produce sound by splitting the air blown into them on a sharp edge, such as a reed.

A flute sounds very bright and cheerful playing high notes.

The piccolo is a small flute that plays one octave higher than the normal flute and plays the highest notes.

The clarinet has a single-reed mouthpiece, a cylindrical tube with a flared end, and holes stopped by keys.

The saxophone was developed from the clarinet and shares many similarities. The player blows into a reed fitted in a mouthpiece of the instrument.

Brass Instruments 

A brass instrument is played by blowing through and buzzing lips against a metal cup-shaped mouthpiece to make sound and change the pitch or note.

The trumpet is played by blowing into the mouthpiece and making a "buzzing" sound. The player can press three keys called valves to change the pitch.

The medium-range mellophone typically replaces the French horn in marching bands. It looks like a trumpet except for more tubing and a much larger bell.

The trombone is like a large trumpet, but the player pushes and pulls the slide to change tube length. It plays a range of notes with the slide and lip vibrations.

The low-range baritone marching horn replaces the euphonium in marching bands. It is held like the trumpet but is much larger and lower pitched.

The sousaphone is the biggest brass instrument weighing 28 pounds, with about 18 feet of tubing, and requires a lot of breath to play. 

Percussion Instruments 

Percussion instruments are played by shaking or hitting. The U of M Marching band has a drumline with four different percussion instruments. 

The snare drum is constructed of two heads—both usually made of plastic—along with a rattle of metal wires on the bottom head called the snares.

Our tenor drums are mounted sets of 5 drums allowing one person to carry and play multiple drums simultaneously.

The bass drum is a large drum with two heads and a booming sound of low indefinite pitch. We have six bass drums, all of different sizes.

Cymbals are discs usually made of copper and bronze that are played by crashing them together in different ways to create many varied sounds.

Color Guard 

The color guard is part of the U of M Marching Band. They use use a variety of flags, rifles, and dance in pregame and halftime performances with the band.

Join us again for exciting dance and music!

• Dance Theatre of Harlem Jan 27
• Ragamala Dance Company Feb 25
• Third Coast Percussion Apr 29

Enjoy the show!