Hey Alumni!
I’m Justin “Buckets” Kozma, and I am a junior pre-vet student studying animal science, and I’m Jacob “Magnus” Hoglund, a junior studying information science in the College of Engineering. We are your fall 2018 Pep Band Conductors! Even though one of us is a trumpet and the other is a bone, we manage to keep the section rivalry at bay and have made this semester a very event-filled and fun one!
Justin “Buckets” Kozma
This semester began with a hectic start, having the largest incoming group of new members ever to join the Big Red Pep Band! In order to make a presence during orientation week, we decided to plan events to keep people hyped about pep band and to make our voices heard. Not only did we perform at various spots on North Campus before classes began, but we also held our first rehearsal the day after First Night, which drew enough band members to require the glass doorwall to be lifted to fit everyone!
Our first event of the semester was a women’s soccer game, which saw over 90 (yes, ninety!) members of the Big Red Pep Band attend! Since then, we’ve played at various soccer, field hockey, sprint football, and, of course, ice hockey games! Our men’s and women’s teams have started off the seasons strong, so we are looking forward to a great year. In late October, we hosted Michigan State for the first time and even though we did not do great, we are looking forward to recovering! And coming up soon, we have back-to-back weekends of Hahvahd games- one at MSG over Thanksgiving Break and the other over the following weekend at Lynah East.
Jacob “Magnus” Hoglund
In addition to running a lot of events this fall, we have added plenty of new music to the folder in effort to modernize it. These song selections include “Wake Me Up,” Brooklyn,” “Istanbul,” and “Everytime We Touch.” We have had incredible attendance at rehearsals, making rehearsing songs a lot easier than previously. The great attendance this semester has made it so much fun to conduct the band and spread cheer and pep to all of Cornell.
We still have some time to go, but so far it has been a growing experience for both of us. From being able to help recruit new members and foster a loving community for them, to making songs, like “Rockin’ the Paradise,” sound better than they ever have before, this semester has proven to be one we will never forget. We could not be prouder of the band and the people in it for making it a place we love going to and serving each and every day!
~ Justin “Buckets” Kozma and Jacob “Magnus” Hoglund