Thank you for your continued support and a wonderful Giving Day!
Giving Day is tomorrow Wednesday 3/16/2022! Join us for some of our favorite songs from 7:30-8:30pm at our livestream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUQdB8rdHpk! #RememberTheBand
Hey All!
My name is Skyler Krouse and I am the current President of the Cornell University Indoor Drumline. For those of you who don’t know, the CUID is a competitive percussion ensemble that performs a marching floor show featuring both a front ensemble and a battery in the New York State Percussion Circuit. This year, we are delighted to be competing Through the Ages, a musical traversal of time that takes its audience from the Ice Age to the Modern Age in a dynamic and engaging composition that is sure to delight all. Each act features a different musical style that matches the age it is representing with exciting visuals to match.
Last weekend, we competed in our first competition at Hilton High School in Hilton, NY and took home First Place with a score of 59.9! We are eagerly practicing for our next competition on March 19th at ESM High School in East Syracuse, NY. Wish us luck!
Much glove,
Skyler Krouse ‘23
Hi All!
This is Aiden and Zakir, the 2022 Pep Band Managers. We had an early January election, despite that setback, everything is running fairly well. The semester started slowly while arrival tests and virtual classes kept us to limited numbers at limited events, but after those first two weeks, we are up and (almost) fully running! We have had amazing attendance at all of our events and have been sounding pretty good, in our, potentially biased, opinion.
While Cornell’s restrictions have lifted slightly, allowing us to perform at our standard 51 members for men’s hockey and at a variety of other events, some other universities have not eased in the same way. We were able to add a day trip to Colgate to our planned two overnight trips, the first to Union and RPI, the second to Quinnipiac and Princeton. Unfortunately, both of these trips had to be canceled since Union, RPI, and Quinnipiac all still have restrictions in place. We were fortunate to fit in a day trip to Princeton which was super fun!
So far we have cheered on men’s and women’s hockey and basketball, and we finally got to a wrestling match! We’re getting ready for playoff season as the Men’s Basketball team has reached the Ivy Tournament and will be playing Princeton in the semi-final, and the Men’s hockey team is looking to dash Colgate’s hopes in their quarterfinal series. While hockey has home ice and the backing of a Lynah that is back to full force, the basketball team, as well as half of the band, will be shipping up to Boston. We’re getting ready to pep the heck out of both events, Let’s Go Red!
As the weather gradually improves we’re getting excited about playing at other spring events. We look forward to playing at lacrosse and baseball games and taking opportunities to cheer on some more unique sports as well. The semester so far has been fun and the rest of the season is brimming with potential! That’s all from us for now!
Humbly yours,
Aiden Thomas and Zakir Ahmad ‘23
Hey Alumni!
My name is Bella Burgess and I’m the 2022 Head Manager for the Big Red Marching Band. I am a junior majoring in Global and Public Health Sciences in the College of Human Ecology and minoring in Healthcare Policy and French from Purcellville, VA. I am a member of the clarinet section and a former clarinet section leader. I am so excited to be leading the band this year alongside our 2022 Drum Major, Zack Kozma.
We have big plans for this year! This spring, we will perform during Cornell Days, and host a Spring Concert in the commons for the first time since 2019! This fall we will travel to Brown, Princeton, and Columbia for the first time in four years! It will be the entire band’s first marching band trip to these schools and first Sy Katz Parade. After hearing so many of your stories about the Sky Katz parade I couldn’t be more excited for the band to attend and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the parade.
Our fundraiser involving the previous uniforms is finally coming to fruition after much hard work and dedication from many previous Head Managers and Uniform Chairs. I am so excited to give these uniforms a new life and share the special memories they hold with bandies past and present. Stay tuned for more updates!
Additionally, we recently split the Philanthropy Coordinator and Diversity Chair position into two separate positions: Philanthropy Coordinator and Diversity Chair. Zack and I are excited to continue promoting diversity and inclusivity within the band and making the band a welcoming and comfortable environment for all Cornellians. We have continued to receive inquiries about joining band all year and have welcomed a handful of new members already this semester.
I hope to see many of you this June at reunion and this fall at Homecoming and on our away trips. Fingers crossed we will be able to play together once again! If you haven’t already follow the BRMB instagram page, and facebook page to stay up to date with what’s going on in the BRMB!
Go Big Red!
Bella Burgess ‘23
Hey Alumni!
My name is Zack Kozma and I am your 2022 Drum Major! I am a junior in CALS studying Ecological and Evolutionary Biology with a minor in Plant Biology. Before taking the podium, I spent time on the field and in the stands playing saxophone alongside the best section in the Ivy League. Prior to that, I was the drum major for my high school marching band in Randolph NJ. Outside of band, I am an undergraduate researcher in the Gandolfo lab focusing on paleobotany. I hope to continue research after my time at Cornell by pursuing a Ph.D. in wildlife conservation.
Bouncing back from 2021, a year still recovering from the impacts of COVID, we have had high energy and great experiences. We started off strong with a parade around the Arts Quad in celebration of Mardi Gras and our mascot Touchdown’s new Mardi Gras outfit. We played some jazzy tunes including the “Saints go Marching” cheer and “Friend Like Me”. In Cornell spirit, we also played MYOC and NCFS, to celebrate Big Red. In preparation for events in the near and distant future, we have rehearsals planned to review not only our favorite songs in the folder but also songs that might need a little more attention. These will be kicked off with a rehearsal the day before Giving day to get our members and you all excited for our highly anticipated Livestream! After Giving Day we are set to perform for Cornell Days and Spring Concert. If you are in Ithaca or around during those events definitely stop on by, say hi, and join us in celebrating Cornell and our band!
Looking towards the fall, September 23-24 is Homecoming! This will hopefully be our first full Homecoming since 2019 so I hope to see you all there, celebrating our school and coming back home! In the fall we will be traveling to Brown, Princeton, and Columbia. This will be the full band’s first time attending these away trips and we could not be more excited. While I am excited to get the chance to see family back in Jersey when we visit for the Princeton game, I am personally very excited about the Colombia trip. Parading down 5th avenue has always been a dream, especially with it being the 50th year of the Sy Katz parade. We have a lot of exciting events coming up and I hope to see as many of you as possible whether that be away or in Ithaca.
Go Red (Dammit)!!!
Zack Kozma ‘23
Hey Alumni!
My name is Justin and I’m a junior studying Nutritional Sciences in the College of Human Ecology. I’m a member of the clarinet section and a former section leader and fundraising chair. My name is Megan and I’m a junior studying the ethics of silence and Information Science in the College of Arts & Sciences. I’m a member of the flute section and a former secretary, fundraising chair, and uniform chair. We’re so excited to be your 2022 Alumni Relations Chairs!
Giving Day is March 16th and we’re happy to be bringing back the livestream concert! We have had an incredible year getting back on the field and sharing our Big Red spirit! Help us #InvestInTheFuture at Give to Big Red Band | Cornell Giving Day 2022. Your support keeps the music alive #RememberTheBand!
Please feel free to reach out to us at jyh33@cornell.edu and mec326@cornell.edu – we want to hear your stories! We look forward to meeting you and your return to the hill! Go Big Red Go!
Flove,
Megan Chang & Justin Han ‘23
The BRBAA Advisory Council held its spring meeting on February 19, 2022.
Minutes from the meeting can be seen here.
Some highlights, takeaways, and dates to note include: