UNH Wildcat Marching Band

Encyclopedia : U : UN : UNH : UNH Wildcat Marching Band

---

The University of New Hampshire Wildcat Marching Band (UNHWMB), "The Beast of the East," is the official marching band of the University of New Hampshire. The UNHWMB plays at the home football games, typically one away game, the Dover and Salem band shows, and various parades across New England. The band has traditionally had an equal mix of music and non-music majors and boasts an average GPA consistently above the University average. ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]} The WMB usually marches between 80-100 members, depending on the year. Its largest roster in the past 5 years was approximately 125.

In 2001, the UNHWMB was invited to perform for Prince Rainier in Monaco as part of a nine-day tour through Italy and France.

Performance style and instrumentation

The Wildcat Marching Band is a corps-style band, which means it employs a roll step and other drill techniques taken from the tradition of Drum Corps International (DCI). The WMB's instrumentation is comprised of piccolos, flutes, clarinets, saxophones (alto and tenor, occasionally also baritone), trumpets, mellophones, trombones, marching baritones, sousaphones, and a battery consisting of snare, tenor (quint), and 5 pitched bass drums, as well as cymbals. The WMB has used a pit (front ensemble) in the past, but since 1997, it is no longer standard. The Wildcat Marching Band also fields a color guard that primarily uses flags, but sabres and rifles are often used in feature. The marching band no longer fields a featured twirler.

Organization

Directors

The director of the Wildcat Marching Band is Casey Goodwin, a UNH alumna and former WMB Drum Major and Graduate Assistant. As Director of Athletic Bands, Goodwin is also the director of the UNH Pep Band, a separate organization that performs for men's and women's hockey and basketball games. She also teaches undergraduate courses in the areas of conducting and music education. Prior to her appointment at UNH, Goodwin was the Director of Instrumental Music at Marshwood High School in South Berwick, ME.

Recent directors

• 2003-2006 Erika Svanoe
• 1998-2003 [Thomas Keck]
• 1997-1998 Jeff Bolduc
• 1987-1997 [Christopher Humphrey]
• 1982-1983 [Larry Lang]

Instructors and graduate assistants

Working directly under the director are a Percussion Instructor and a Color Guard Instructor. In addition, the Wildcat Marching Band typically fields a staff of Graduate assistants -- graduate students from the UNH Department of Music who help as drill technicians, arrange music for halftime shows, and assist with rehearsals and performances.

Student leadership

The WMB typically fields three Drum Majors of equal rank. Additionally, each section has one or two Section Leaders, who are responsible for teaching music, running warm-up and drill block sessions, and generally serving as an example to the rest of their section.

Links

• [Official Web site]
• [WMB MySpace page]
• [WMB Recruiting Video]

 

---

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

?