By Megan Freeman
You’ve probably been to a football game at least once in your life, right? You’ve heard the cheering of the crowd, the concessions stand hollering out their offers and begging you to spend your money, and you’ve watched the cheerleaders pump the crowd up as the team storms the field, ready to take on the challenger!
Even though it’s a fun picture, it’s not quite the same without a band present.
Next semester at Fitchburg State University, Timothy Garske, the Assistant Director of Athletics is looking to start up a pep band on campus! Recently, Garske sent out an email to all students here on campus about it through the Athletics department!
Anyone who plays an instrument is welcome to contact Garske at [email protected] for more information regarding joining. Signing up for the pep band is open to students, staff, faculty, and fans.
A pep band here on campus would frequent sports games and other events the school would put on, giving students plenty of school spirit during important times! What better way to pump up a college crowd than through music? It seems to pump students up during other events!
When you think of a ‘pep band’, what instruments come to mind? Horn instruments, flutes, clarinets, trombones, trumpets, and of course percussion. But right now, there’s no specific instruments requested, so if you play any instrument whatsoever Garske highly encourages you to email him for more information about forming the band! Any interest is appreciated and any interest leads to a potential new member for the upcoming band next year.
Hopefully, the pep band will be a part of the campus next year. For many students who attended college after going to a high school, their schools had a band that played during pep rallies and sporting events to encourage to crowd and to supply school spirit.
“Our band played ‘Sweet Caroline’ during games most of the time,” one freshman here at FSU said when the subject of bands was brought up, “I didn’t know we didn’t have one here,” She added.
The band will be run through the Athletics Department here at Fitchburg State. Because it’s run through the athletics department, the band will work closely with other sports teams—but that’s part of the point of having a pep band! The band wouldn’t be as physically demanding as a marching band, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be rehearsals and plenty of exercise involved! Overall, it will be a rewarding experience for anyone who expresses interest in it.
This pep band will come to campus, according to Garske, next school year. For more information, interested people can check out the website fitchburgfalcons.com or email TJ Garske at [email protected] to find out how to join the pep band. And for anyone else who doesn’t play an instrument but loves to listen to music, remember to bring your listening ears when you come back to campus in the fall!