Hi Alumni!
My name is Emily Jones, or EJ, and I served as the 2024 Head Manager of the BRMB. I am a senior majoring in Biological Sciences, and minoring in both education and infectious disease. I learned so much as head manager this year and I made so many amazing memories along the way! We started the season off in August playing at the Big Red Welcome Fest and New Student Convocation. We met so many new members at these performances, and we’re so glad that so many freshmen decided to join us! Soon after, we had First Night which included VP Lombardi and Touchdown. This was truly a great way to kick off the semester. In the coming weeks we had Special Rehearsal on North, followed by Stewart Park Picnic, then CU Downtown, and finally the annual scavenger hunt. All of these events allowed us to continue building a community here in the BRMB.
As the semester progressed, we looked forward more and more to Homecoming and welcoming back all of our alumni. We were so excited that we saw the football team defeat Yale at homecoming; it made for a very special moment. The team had a new coach this year, Dan Swanstrom, and he was very supportive of the band. Our Quarterback, Jameson Wang, got on the podium to conduct Cornell Victorious with Pauws, and watching it all happen right in front of me is a moment I will never forget. This year, there was a big emphasis placed on fan engagement at football games, so the band’s playing time was significantly increased, especially in between downs. It was a blast getting to play so much and bringing back cheers that had not been played in a while.
In the weeks that followed, we played at home against Albany and Harvard, and then on our week off we played at the Ground Breaking Ceremony for the Meinig Fieldhouse that is being built on Alumni Field. Then, on the last weekend in October, we went on our first away trip to Brown University. We had a lot of fun playing with Brown’s Band during our post game performance. The week after we went to Princeton, and we loved seeing so many of our wonderful alumni cheering us on. After a few weeks on the road, we finished off our home games with Penn and then our senior game against Dartmouth. We saw the Big Red defeat ranked Dartmouth, which was the perfect way to close out our final time marching on Schoelkopf this year. Our season came to an end at Columbia, but we couldn’t have been more excited for the Sy Katz Parade. The parade was two blocks longer than it was in 2022, and I feel so lucky that I got to be a part of this tradition. The parade truly encompassed the spirit of the BRMB, and it is a moment many of us will never forget!
This year brought a lot of unexpected challenges our way, and I am so grateful that Pauws was there to navigate them with me. I am thankful for her endless support and all of the encouragement she gave me over the course of the year. She has been a fantastic Drum Major for the past two years and is an incredible leader. Thank you, Peej! I also want to thank all of Bandstaph for making this year so successful. Last but not least, thank you to all of our alumni, none of this would be possible without your support.
I have grown so much over the past year, and I look forward to seeing all that future leaders accomplish.
Thank you, Band!
Emily Jones ‘25