Northrop 2022-23 Student Matinees
61st Annual Marching Band Indoor Concert Student Matinee Pre-event Video Transcript
Welcome to Northrop at the University of Minnesota
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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% Non-Music Majors
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 Jon Ingram!
Meet The Block Captain
Meet Block Captain Kindra Peterson; 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!
Instruments in the U of M Marching Band
The U of M Marching Band consisits 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!
- Limón Dance Company Nov 18-Dec 2
- Ballet Hispánico Feb 24-Mar 3
- Pilobolus: Rules @ Play Apr 13-21
We gratefully acknowledge the support from
- RBC Wealth Management
- Minnesota State Arts Board
- Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
