Hey Alumni!
I’m Jordan Greissman, a senior Computer Science and English double major, and I’m Kristen Ajmo, a junior studying Environmental Engineering, and we’re your Spring 2018 Pep Band Conductors! Together, we form the collective, amorphous blob known as Jojmo. We’ve both been in pep band since we first came to Cornell and, while we started on trombone and clarinet, respectively, we both now play percussion when we’re not conducting.
Jordan “Jojo” Greissman
We’ve had a really exciting semester so far because many of our teams have been playing really well! In addition to our men’s hockey team, who made the ECAC and NCAA tournaments, our women’s hockey team made their ECAC tournament, and the men’s basketball team played in the Ivy League tournament in Philly! We’re incredibly excited to get to travel to support our teams and we know that the rest of the band is too! Many new freshmen joined the pep band this semester, too, after we had a very successful spring semester ClubFest!
We have been focusing a lot this semester on reintroducing some songs to the folder. We’ve found that there are a good number of songs that we’ve stopped playing over our few years at Cornell and have been trying to bring them back, based on the band’s feedback. A lot of these songs are on the difficult side, so the whole band has definitely been working very hard during rehearsals. We think that relearning these songs has been a rewarding experience, and getting to play them at games has really energized the band! The band seems to really be enjoying the challenges we’ve been giving them and has been sounding truly great!
Looking towards the back half of the semester, we are hoping to hold another Student Arranger’s Day, where we can try out some more experimental songs and see if the band wants to introduce them to the folder. We have a good amount of cheersheets and songs that have been sent to us since the last Student Arranger’s Day, so we think the later part of the semester is a good time to play through them all. We’re also really excited to get to start playing at outdoor events such as baseball and lacrosse!
Kristen “Kajmo” Ajmo
Getting to be a pep band conductor has been an incredibly fulfilling experience for both of us. We have been so honored and motivated by the enthusiasm and energy with which our band plays and cheers at these games. Watching the band grow and engage even more with the music over the course of this semester has really reaffirmed why we cJhose to run for conductor and love the pep band so much. We’re both very proud of this band and are immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to lead it!
-Jordan “Jojo” Greissman ‘18 and Kristen “Kajmo” Ajmo ‘19