University of Minnesota Marching Band Student Matinee 

Student Matinee Program Information

The UMN Marching Band will play halftime favorites, with Band Director Dr. Betsy McCann offering commentary between pieces.

• Earplugs will be provided to all students & chaperones!

Students will engage with University of Minnesota students in a Q&A at the end of the performance.

• Suggested Learning Target: Students will identify the families of instruments that make up the Marching Band and investigate how live music interacts with the social, historical, and cultural engagement on campus and in the community.

Pre-Show Questions:

• Do you play a musical instrument, and if so, why did you choose that instrument?If not, what instruments might you be interested in learning to play?
• What do you know about student life on a college campus?
• Why do you think sporting events include mascots, live music, and cheerleaders?

Post-Show Questions:

• What did you learn about the Marching Band today?
• What songs would you like to hear the Marching Band play?
• The Marching Band will often perform halftime shows that celebrate or commemorate social movements or important people in our collective history. If you were to direct a halftime show, what would be your inspiration and theme?

Watch

• Halftime - 10/26/24: “UMMB Through The Years” – 13-minute video from Homecoming 2024 when The Pride of Minnesota dug through their archives and pulled out some of their classic tunes and favorite formations, beginning with music and drill straight from the 1960s and Memorial Stadium. The band grew and evolved through the 1970s and 80s, bringing new music and visual elements to the field. (All Grades)
  • This halftime performance celebrated the 75th anniversary of our Band Alumni Society. The Band Alumni Society serves current students through countless ways, from volunteering on the sidelines, to making care packages, to sponsoring scholarships, and much, much more.
• Halftime - 11/23/24: “Classical Marching Band” – 13-minute video from the final halftime show of the season, in which the Marching Band honors their graduating members with a phenomenal show featuring classical music compositions. (All Grades)
  • Selections from “Pictures at an Exhibition” (1874) by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky
  • “Jupiter” from English composer Gustav Holst’s The Planets (1914–1917)
  • The Overture to the opera William Tell composed by Gioachino Rossini (1829)
• MN State Connect & Respond Standards
  • Younger students: Explore the connections between the music being played and the formations being formed on the field. What pictures or stories do the band form and how do they connect to the music being performed?
  • Older students: Both of these halftime performances have a celebratory element of history. What is the significance of the Marching Band honoring their past performances, band member alumni, and graduating seniors? From classical music to the hits of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, why do modern musicians learn and perform songs from decades or even hundreds of years ago?
• “A Game Day in the Life: University of Minnesota Marching Band” – A 30-minute video of a member of the Marching Band with a Go-Pro taking viewers through a typical Game Day of the Band on the evening of Oct 12, 2019. (All Grades)

Listen

• “Music and Football: The connection of two popular pastimes” – The Kennedy Center

Guided Learning Series podcast episodes diving into the connection between music and football with Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Reflection prompts for students. (Grades 8–12)

• MN State Connect & Respond Standards

Do

• “Whack-A-Note: An Interactive Carnivalesque Learning Experience” – The Kennedy Center, an interactive online game of sight-reading and musical notation. (Grades 4–12)
  • MN State Foundations Standards
• The Kennedy Center offers Lesson Plans for Grades 3–5 exploring the relationships between acoustics and science, with supporting documents, videos, and materials lists:
  • Brass Instruments and Pitch
  • Percussion Instruments and Pitch
  • Woodwind Instruments and Pitch
  • Strike Up the Band: Creating Homemade Instruments

- These materials support MN State Foundations Standards, National Core Arts Standards, and Next Generation Science Standards.

Read (All Grades)

• Goldy Gopher Fun Facts & Jokes
• History & Traditions of the Marching Band
• By the Numbers: University of Minnesota Marching Band

(Article by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine with fun facts about the band.)