The Flutes have had a flovely fall semester! We’re proud to say we’ve nearly doubled in size with a large freshmen and new-member class. With all these new bandsmen, we added rank U to our existing ranks of B, A, and D. We continue to uphold our traditions of flute-ups, flute naps, fancy flute, chopsticks, kumcha, etc., while adding new things to the mix. This year, we held a “Chopped”-styled event where flutes competed in an epic bake-off. Everyone had a blast! We also had fun meeting olds at homecoming and all the games since. Continue to visit us and we’ll be happy to share our baked goods!
The Clarinets have welcomed in a great new class of freshman plus a few upperclassmen! We’ve had multiple people learning the clarinet this semester who are all doing extremely well. We had some great times on all of the away trips this year! The section has been sounding GREAT given the hard parts thrown our way in basically every show so far. Additionally, we’ve had a fantastic time with some of our section bonding events, like spoopy pumpkin carving and our apple pie making tradition. Looking forward, we’re excited for our secret santa and many more great seasons of band!
The openest, snuggliest, mintiest section of the band, the Saxes have been absolutely killing this season with a panache never exhibited before! Starting with recruitment, we had a phenomenal turnout, with over 50 saxes packing the band center for First Night! Pizza and ice cream were had, and classic SaxHouse mainstays such as Eagles are Turning People into Horses and NumberWang were watched. We had many first-time sax players join us and every single one of them has done an astounding job learning the ropes! Our away trips have been fun so far- we threw a pool party and sang to wedding guests at Brown, and roamed through Princeton for the legendary Hoagie Haven. We’ve added two new cheers to our repertoire, “My Shiny Teeth and Me” and “Funky Town”! As we’re closing out the season, we are preparing to tear through the Big Apple parading in the Sy Katz Parade! Saxes for life!
The Trumpets are having an amazing Fall 2018! Our recruitment this year nearly doubled our ranks, and we’ve never sounded better. Some of our new members have never marched, some have never played trumpet, and some haven’t done either; but, everyone is having a good time trying! On the field, we’ve been told by ShowComm more than once that we are the best looking section, and we continue to mess around because of it. Pony Siper ‘20 and Spot Ellert-Beck ‘20 nailed the solo from “Welcome to the Black Parade”, while learning shows was made excellent and easy by Showcomm Chair Buckets Kozma ‘20. Buckets also helped make pep band a blast as conductor and all his hard work was recognized by the band with his election as our 2019 Drum Major! Our snacks have been boujee-er than normal due to our wonderful Trumpet Mom, Tips Han ‘19. Jeff Van ‘19 continues to be swoll as our Head Field Manager, with a huge amount of help from Molly Bergin ‘19 as historian. Off the field, we’ve had a lot of dinners, board game nights, and even a few Forums. In some ways the section changes, but in many ways, it stays the same. Lastly, thanks to trumpets young and old for making this season excellent. Here’s to an amazing 2018.
The Horns gained three wonderful new members this semester, but our three beloved seniors have marched their last show. Saying goodbye to Maria, Lauren, and Brandon will be difficult, but we’ll enjoy the semester we have remaining with them. The horns have continued to be a very tight knit group. Whether it’s bonding over a love for Waluigi or applying temporary tattoos on away trips, it’s easy for us to find fun when we’re together. Many of our horns are also pep band members and many play or sing in assorted musical groups/organizations on campus; so if you ever hear music at Cornell there’s a good chance that a horn is involved.
Da Bones are still going strong! With marching season coming to a close, we are excited to head into the spring for a whole new bonerush with the freshbones! They are the most wholesome group you could ever know! We’ve had everything from pumpkin carving to board game nights to mac and cheese nights for section bonding. Every second is pure and full of love! We anxiously await to see who will step up to the role of Section Leader for 2019! With nine seniors leaving us, we are happy to pass on the reigns and see the new generation of bones take over. This year we hope to bring back bone pants and maybe even section hoodies! Bone mugs are still in the works, we hope to order soon if the company can get the stencil right! Times may be rough and rapidly changing, but the bones are resilient and stick together through and through. Family don’t end with blood- the bones are proof of that! We hope that all is well and that we will see you soon! Come visit your family! We miss you all!
The Tubae have had a fabulous 2018 season! We’ve welcomed two newbas: Bowen and Keshav! This season, we kind of did the Tuba 500. We even continued to dominate the frisbee game during practices! We also almost won the annual band paper drive after collecting the most sheets of paper! As per usual, tuba report time is alive and well. Thank you to our seniors for a great season! You guys will be missed. See y’all soon!
The Guard is closing out yet another great semester! Through a lot of hectic rehearsals and cardio-heavy drill, we have pulled off some fun shows and had a good time doing them. We gained several fabulous new members this season to more than double our size, including a few who have never spun before and are now killing it on the field. The season started off strong with a fabulous homecoming and a great time hanging out with alumni. It has since seen us through two back-to-back trips to Brown and Princeton and a Friday night game under the lights. This season we have continued to expand on our traditions and we have established ourselves as one of the wholesome sections of the band. From getting lost in a corn maze in the backwaters of Upstate New York to getting crepes in a dark alleyway of Providence at midnight, the fun never stops! Congratulations to all of our returning members for a successful year of dominating Bandstaph and to Eggily Grigg ‘21 for slaying as the leader of our rifle line. We certainly are looking forward to another year of spinning and fun!
The Percussion think they’re too cool for BandNotes, but here is a picture of them anyway!
Their section leader was upset that they took a picture without him, so here he is!
Gligor Tashkovich (horn ‘85) won an international competition advertised in The Economist magazine to become part of the five-member Committee for the Approval of Investments of the sovereign Macedonian Innovation and Technological Development Fund. In other words, he is a “SharkTank” judge in Macedonia except it’s World Bank and Macedonian Government money and it isn’t televised. So far, they have awarded over 24 million Euros in 2018 to some 100+ companies.
Our Podcast Cover Art!
Gregory Berman (trumpet ‘12) and Amanda Quain (flute ‘13) have started a Disney music podcast that’s fun for the whole family (PG-13)! It’s called Wish Upon a Star. Check us out on Apple Podcasts or Google us!
Katie Shaw rubbing UNH’s Wildcat’s nose
Katie (Shaw) Green (horn ’16) graduated with an M.Ed in Secondary Agricultural Education from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in May 2018. She’s currently teaching high school animal science in NH and trying to join a community band.
Mark Goldman with his kids, Olivia and Ian
Marc Goldman (trumpet ’90) moved with his family from New York City to Gettysburg, PA, so he could work as Executive Director of the Center for Career Engagement at Gettysburg College. His daughter Olivia, 11, now plays the trumpet, and son, Ian, 9, just started to learn the string bass.
Wedding photo of Amanda and Dustin in the center of Schoellkopf field
Amanda Quain (flute ‘13) and Dustin Tiedemann (sax ‘13) were married on July 14th at Sage Chapel. The wedding was attended by an aggressive amount of bandies, and included flute-ups, “Call Me Al”, a recession to “Pinball Wizard”, and a rousing chorus of the “Alma Mater/Evening Song”.
David Fischell playing playing the piccolo in Lynah
David Fischell (piccolo ‘75) was thrilled to be able to play with the pep band on November 2 for part of the men’s hockey game. And he sends his thanks for the borrowed instrument!
Brian and Shayna with Annabel Brooke at homecoming!
Brian Adelman (tuba ‘09, head manager ‘08) and Shayna (Gerson) Adelman (trumpet ‘10, drum major ‘09) had a daughter, Annabel Brooke, on July 1.
Matthew experimenting in the kitchen
Matthew “Chopper” Weidman (bone ’18) has been experimenting with changes to his delicious quesadilla recipe! He recently tried adding bell peppers to it, but he didn’t like it as much.
Reunion Recap
Reunion was such a success! It was great everyone was able to come out and past and present members of the band were able to connect! Here are some photos from the event! For more, visit our historian page here!
Homecoming 2018 Information
Hey Alumni!
Homecoming is right around the corner and there couldn’t be a better time to return to the Hill with the only REAL Marching Band in the Ivy League? If you will be joining us please fill out this RSVP survey and below you’ll find a preview of the band’s activity. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions or concerns.
Saturday, September 22nd: Homecoming
9:30 AM – Big Red Bands Alumni Association Meeting. Join us in the Fischell Band center for a BRBAA meeting to get up-to-date with all that’s going on in the bands. There will be breakfast available, too!
10:20 AM – Alumni can join rehearsal!
Come join the band on Alumni Field and practice this year’s homecoming song, Conquistador! Music can be picked up from the Fischell Band center prior to the practice.
11:30 AM – Alumni Tailgate and Luncheon Time
Join us in front of the Fischell Band Center for food and fun!
1:45 PM – Tailgate Concert at Kite Hill
After parading down to Ho Plaza, the Big Red Marching Band will return to Kite Hill and play a tailgate concert where you can listen to some old classics and new favorites.
3:00 PM – Football Game Kickoff
Kickoff will happen promptly after the Big Red Marching Band performs a pre-game song and plays the National Anthem.
6:00 PM – Post-game concert and reception
As soon as the football game is over, in true BRMB fashion there will be a post-game concert, so look forward to a little more music from the only REAL marching band in the Ivy League!
Link to Full Schedule
Marching Band Fall Schedule
September 22nd: Homecoming vs. Yale
September 29th: Home vs. Sacred Heart
October 6th: Home vs. Harvard
October 19th: Away at Brown
October 26th: Away at Princeton
November 10th: Home vs. Dartmouth
November 17th: Away at Columbia (with the Sy Katz Parade after the game!)
Please email Emily Isenstein (eli7@cornell.edu) if you plan to attend any away game and you do not live near the home team.
MSG Information:
If you are planning on attending this year’s hockey game at Madison Square Garden, read this!
This year’s game will be held on Saturday, November 24th at 8:00pm and will be against Harvard! Since Harvard is one of our biggest rivals, this game could possibly be sold out!
The tickets presale information has not yet been released, but stay posted for updates! It will work differently than it has in the past and you will most likely receive a presale code or link where you can buy tickets through the MSG website. Please contact Emily Isenstein (eli7@cornell.edu) for more information.
I was hoping to start this article off crowing about a deep run in the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament, but the exciting regular season ended abruptly for the Pep Band and the team. Screw BU, it seems, so it is on to more official matters.
The Big Red Bands Advisory Council met in Ithaca on February 17, 2018, welcoming the 2018 student leaders of the Big Red Marching and Big Red Pep Bands. In addition to the usual reporting and budgeting, we took a deep-dive into our endowment funds. ***WARNING: Gory financial details follow – skip to the bottom for important announcements if you are short on time/attention span!*** As true BRBAA geeks know (all three of them), our endowment started over 35 years ago with a push for the “Second Century Fund.” There isn’t one endowment per se; we have multiple accounts of different types, and you can get a taste for the details here. Over the past few decades, budget surpluses have been reinvested in those accounts, which comprise shares in the University long-term investment pool. There is a smattering of gifts directly given to these accounts each year, but that represents both a minority of the gifts received – most go to the Bands’ annual funds – and the minority of the funds invested. Each share in the LTIP provides an annual payout ($2-3/share) that is set by the Board of Trustees. Resource Chair Nick Janiga ’00 presented some excellent analysis of our investing approach that showed an overall net-positive in present-day value cash because of our investment strategy. This may seem like an obvious finding, but it holds true even accounting for significant share value loss from the recession 10 years ago – a loss that still has not been recouped.
In fact, Nick’s analysis says that if anything, we need to be more aggressive in re-investing our cash reserves into LTIP and worry less about share value. Basically, there have been very, very few short-term periods where selling shares after a market decline would not be offset by the additional LTIP payout provided by those shares during that time. For example, current share value of ~$55 is still down from its October 2007 high of $69, a loss of 17%. If we sold those shares today, we would still be cash positive, as the $12/share loss is more than offset by the 10 years of $2.53 average payout per year on those shares. This is remarkable for two reasons:
1. It includes the most dramatic market crash we’ve seen in our lifetimes, and
2. It includes the terrible performance of Cornell’s endowment despite a surging stock market (which I briefly touched on last year).
The BRBAA had a very passive investing strategy after the initial second-century push until a little after the turn of the millennium, and the renewed focus on long-term finances was clearly the way to go. We now know that with the exception of perhaps 1-2 years before the $150,000 uniform purchase every 12 years, we should re-invest our gift account overages into LTIP every year to take advantage of dollar-cost-averaging to maximize the yields for the band.
If you’ve read this far, you may be asking, “Should I give directly to the endowment?” It depends on your intention, but if you are so inclined, the Bands’ non-endowment gift accounts still give maximum flexibility. We treat all gifts with the utmost respect and help the students manage their budget appropriately. Most years will result in a slight positive balance (even after line items set aside for long-term purchases), and we will re-invest responsibly. Nick can share this data in person this fall.
Speaking of which, Homecoming is September 21-22, 2018. Be there! Last fall, we moved the Annual Big Red Bands Alumni Association meeting to Saturday morning in the Fischell Band Center. It was a success, and we didn’t even realize the breakfast food was there for us right outside the glass doors. This fall, with the combination of actually realizing we ordered breakfast and a hastily mounted projector screen, there’s no telling what we can accomplish! We know that many people aren’t yet in town for the traditional 4 PM Friday Statler meeting, and even if you are, there are friends to see and beers to drink. We’ll be repeating the Saturday morning Annual Meeting this fall – so mark your calendars! Exact time TBD depending on kickoff and how late we’re out on Friday night.
Importantly, the proposed slate of 2019-2020 officers for the Alumni Association will be presented and voted upon at that meeting. If you’d like to donate time and energy to the Bands, please contact the chair of the nominating committee, Tom “Tasty Cakes” Seery ’09 (esquire). It really is rewarding to give back to an organization that means so much to all of us, and it’s a great excuse to get Hot Truck a few times per year.
I want to close by encouraging all Band alumni to come back to Ithaca for Homecoming, Reunion, or an away game near you. The Marching and Pep Band travel will be posted in the summer, reflecting the wacky new “rivalry” Ivy League schedule. Apparently Penn is just fine and we hate Columbia now. Don’t forget the Sy Katz Parade this fall on November 17 – details to come (I’m pretty sure the Band will be at that one)!
As always, thank you for your continued support of the Bands and the students!
Lowell ’99, ‘03
And now presenting the only REAL Spring 2018 BandNotes Articles in the Ivy League!
We’d like to briefly introduce ourselves to you! We are the 2018 Alumni Relations Chairs- Maria Komorowski ‘19 and Natalie Parker ‘20. Maria is a pre-med Nutritional Science major from Erie, PA. She has served on band leadership before as the 2017 horn co-section leader and has been one of the pep band historians since autumn 2016. Natalie Parker is a pre-med sophomore studying French and Biology from Ridgefield, Connecticut. She plays clarinet and is a proud member of Rank Z! Please feel free to reach out to us at mhk99@cornell.edu and nap68@cornell.edu; we’d love to hear from you!
As Ithaca begins to thaw and the hockey season ending, the bandsmen have had time to reflect on their hopes for the season. The new BandStaph members are settling into their roles and are already working towards new opportunities to make the band one of the most positive organizations on campus. In the meantime, we’re maximizing the time spent with our soon-to-be graduates, who have helped shape our band memories and contributed to our long standing traditions. While we’re enjoying the growing sunlight, take a glance through the attached articles to see what the band has already done this year and the great things we look forward to doing.
We hope to see you back on the Hill soon! Reunion weekend is June 7-10, 2018 and Homecoming is September 22, 2018. Nothing is quite like hearing music on distant chimes as the twilight falls.
Warm Regards,
Maria Komorowski ‘19
Natalie Parker ‘20
Maria Komorowski (left) and Natalie Parker (right)
Special Dates to Know
Reunion: June 7-10, 2018
Homecoming: September 22, 2018
Sy Katz Parade: November 17, 2018
Due to changes in the football calendar, our marching band schedule has slightly changed from what it’s been in the past. A few of the games have been moved to new dates or locations, so if you’re interested in attending any of the games please give extra attention to when and where. The Harvard game is now home this year, the Princeton game is away, and the last three games have been shuffled from their traditional weekend.
Fall 2018 Marching Band Schedule
First Night: August 20, 2018
Homecoming v. Yale: September 22, 2018
Home Football v. Sacred Heart: September 29, 2018
Home Football v. Harvard: October 6, 2018
Away Football at Brown: October 20, 2018
Away Football at Princeton: October 27, 2018
Home Football v. PennSucks: November 3, 2018
Home Football v. Dartmouth: November 10, 2018
Away Football at Columbia and Sy Katz Parade: November 17, 2018
Without alumni support, the bands would be unable to have so many wonderful opportunities to play, support our teams, and share our Big Red spirit. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped continue the Big Red Bands’ success. Both Phonathon and Giving Day were huge success thanks to your help. During phonathon, we raised over $38,000 for the Bands in two evenings of calling! $20,000 of this was from the first day alone and does not include all of the unspecified gifts we got, which means the number will go up even more! This is an all-time record! Alumni support goes so far to help the band and every gift is greatly appreciated and helps to make the band that much better. Giving Day further contributed to the bands! With the help of over 400 donors, we raised $25,000 for the bands; $5,000 of which was given by athletics for winning a donor challenge! We cannot thank you enough for your unwavering support and making all that the bands do possible
Additionally, our Fundraising Chairs have been hard at work. Caressa Swartz ‘21 and Peter VandeVort ‘21, Pep Band Fundraising Chairs, held a fundraiser at the much loved DP Dough, and raised over $200! We ordered so many calzones that we broke their ovens! Talk about commitment! Calios also reached out to us shortly after and an additional fundraiser will surely follow. There will also be bands merchandise available for purchase soon, so keep an eye on your inbox for more details on that to come in the near future.
Thank you again for your continued support!
Hello Alumni!
We are the Cornell University Indoor Drumline! Some of you may remember us from your years here (we were founded in 2006), but to reintroduce ourselves, CUID is a student-run winter percussion ensemble competing in the New York State Percussion Circuit. We are separate from the Big Red Bands, but much of our membership overlaps and we are grateful for the opportunity to rehearse under the same roof!
Our season usually begins as the marching band season winds down. We hold auditions before the end of the fall semester and use winter break to individually learn warm-up exercises as well as the show that we compete with in the upcoming season. We reconvene at the end of break to officially kick-off our season with Drum Camp, and then hold rehearsals throughout the rest of the season. We practice around 2-3 times per week in the Fischell Band Center in preparation for our competitions in upstate New York.
This season, we put on a showcase for the Cornell community in Barton Hall for the first time in our history! It was a successful event; we performed our 2018 show, Paradigm, to an audience as our first performance this season to increase awareness around campus about who we are and what we do. Our first competition was at Hilton High School the following weekend where we placed first in our class! We are currently continuing to clean and perfect Paradigm in preparation for the Championships competition at Onondaga Community College on Sunday, April 8th. If you are interested in learning more about us or would just like to see what we do you can go to our website at http://www.cuindoordrumline.com/.
-Cornell University Indoor Drumline
The Flutes have been having a flovely semester! We started with cookie-baking and have only had more fun since. We’d like to congratulate the flutes who stepped up to leadership positions for 2018: Julia Klopfer is Treasurer, Shan Parikh is a Publicity Chair, and Bridget Childs is Secretary. This semester, we’re looking forward to more events with other sections, Cornell Days, and the Spring Concert, and can’t wait for the return of full-fledged marching band in the fall!
The Clarinets have definitely been keeping busy this semester between Pep Band and some packed weekend activities. We just had an awesome Spring Clarinetini that went on forever (in a good way of course), and look forward to all of our events in the coming weeks. We’ve added some new ‘dance’ moves to a few Pep Band and Marching Band Songs- like stomping in You’re Gonna Go Far Kid (arranged by our very own Jeremy Miller!!) and The Hand That Feeds, and doing Susan’s weird dance move at the beginning of Sweet Child O’ Mine. Already, we’ve had a little bit of Marching Band this year with HEC Kickoff and Giving Day, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the semester has in store.
The Saxes have been doing great this semester, and have been learning so much about each other as well as other sections. We’ve hung out with the likes of trumpets and trombones, and we’ll be chilling still with flutes, drumline, and others! We’ve been blessed to have an impromptu Slope Day 0.5 during a SaxHouse brunch, and celebrated the Eagles Super Bowl victory with a whole house read-along of the glorious “Eagles are Turning People into Horses” (eagles eagles eagles)! Many of us have been getting involved by writing new cheers and stepping up to leadership positions in the band. In fact, we have 8 members in 6 different bandstaph positions, including our lovely drum major Katherine Curtis ‘19 (Saxy DM dynasty part 3) this year!! We love to see this much excitement for the band and are looking forward to an awesome spring and fall semester!
The Horns are a busy group, but we have enjoyed seeing each other at weekly section dinners. We are so excited for our seniors, Snigdha Sharma, Sachi Koide, and Kristen Rose Baxter, to graduate, but will miss them terribly. They will go on to do great things! Despite being one the of the smaller sections, we have quite a few members that have stepped up to leadership positions. Kassandra Patrick ’21 as Equipment Chair, Carrie Rucker ’21 as Uniform Chair (BRMB) and Social Chair (PB), Maria Komorowski ’19 as Alumni Relations Chair (BRMB) and Historian Chair (PB), and Emma Jacob ‘20 and Kelly Grice ‘20 (also a ShowComm member) as your horny section leaders. Although many of the horns continue to be active in pep band, we are anxiously awaiting the upcoming marching season, and cannot wait to be (and waaahh) louder than ever!
The Trumpets have had an awesome beginning to 2018! We continue to fill the ranks of Bandstaph with Ponyboy Siper ‘20 ascending to Trumpet Section Leader, Chris Sanchez ‘20 becoming the most powerful person in band (Spinmaster), Tips Han ‘19 baking his way to the position of Trumpet Mom, Jeff Van ‘19 as Head Field Manager, Justin Kozma ‘20 as both Uniform Chair and ShowComm Member (wow), and one of our pep band trumpets, Emily Grigg ‘21, as Publicity Chair! We also love pep band, which is why we have Emily Waite ‘21 as Pep Band Equipment Chair and Peter VandeVort ‘21 and Caressa Swartz ‘21, another proud pep band trumpet, as Pep Band Fundraising Chairs. We’ve been ice skating, Taco Bell eating, seeing trumpet alums on and off of pep band trips, and continuing to kick butt as the best section in the band. We will miss our seniors, Mary Amper ‘18 and Bethany Angeliu ‘18, as they graduate and move on to bigger and better things. Soon we will have our Trumpet Formal at everyone’s favorite Chinese Buffet, Slope Day, and a host of other outside gatherings. Our section’s future looks bright with a solid core of proud trumpet freshmen in the marching and pep bands, and we look forward to a fantastic Fall 2018 season!
Da Bones are off to a great start! Ji Ann Greenberg was elected as our new section leader for 2018, and Kevin Juarez-Leon is going once more around the block in the position. Our freshman are amazing gifts from the heavens to us, and you should all come back to visit and meet them! We miss you all! Cornell Days are around the corner, and we can’t wait to welcome and meet new naive faces; and the marching season will be here sooner than we expect it!! We are still working on sorting out Bone Mugs, so sit tight for that. Thank you for all of your gracious donations to make these orders possible. The company only has a weird 28 oz mug available and don’t know when the manufacturer will be able to produce the 32 oz mugs since they continued breaking in the kilns. But rest assured, we are working on it. Otherwise, you can find us playing Gang Beasts, frying stuff, enjoying milk and cookies, underboning, and having a good ol’ wholesome time. Please come visit us, we love you all so much, and we miss you!
The Tubae are at it again, with a fun filled semester so far complete with all of the shenanigans that we always do. We’ve of course been continuing our Taco Tuesday tradition. This semester, we say goodbye to our much-appreciated Ed as he graduated after completing his MEng work. His legacy will certainly live on as our Freshmen, Coy, Eli, and Juan, and our Junior, but new to band Becky, have continued to amaze us every day. Our seniors have been enjoying their last few months as undergrads, and we’re getting ready for another INCREDIBLE semester next year! JK we are the tubae- we don’t get ready for anything haha
The Guard is ready to come out of our winter hibernation to spin together once again! Lately, we have been rocking our amazing matching knee socks and bonding with baking nights. How many different kinds of cookies can we make? Congratulations to Becca Rodell ‘19 on being elected Head Manager, we cannot wait to see you lead this band and do a truly great job! Within our own section, Tara van Nieuwstadt ‘20 was elected captain and Marlaina Gehret ‘20, co-captain. Many other members have also risen up the band ladder as part of our growing prominence in the band and Bandstaph, including Emily Grigg ‘21 as Publicity Chair (keeping the legacy going strong!), as well as Rachel Bradley ‘21 and Toni Sassano ‘19 as Social Chairs. The guard takeover of the band has begun! We cannot wait for the spring weather to air our silks again, but in the meantime we are looking forward to a fun year of awesome flag work and new traditions!
The Percussion as usual, too cool for BandNotes, but we snuck in a picture of them anyway.
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
Hello Alumni!
My name is Zach Brothers, and I am incredibly happy to introduce myself as the 2018 Pep Band Manager! I am a sophomore who studies Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering . I am also on the Resistance Racing Engineering Project Team and an Eagle Scout from Cary, North Carolina. In marching band, I am a member of the tuba section (current tuba liaison) and I have previously served as Treasurer for the Pep Band. As you might imagine, being in this manager position has been challenging; however, I love what I do and I have great people helping me along the way. Speaking of which, my conductors, Jordan “Jojo” Greissman ’18 and Kristan “Kajmo” Ajmo ’19, have made my life all the easier with their incredible conducting abilities and their infectious passion and enthusiasm for the Pep Band!
Our Men’s Hockey team has had quite the historical season this year winning the Cleary Cup and the Ivy League Title! During our regular season run this semester, we had three trips to Harvard/Dartmouth, SLU/Clarkson, Union/RPI. All these trips were filled with wins and amazing memories that will last a lifetime. We were even ranked number 1 in the country for some time (the hockey team AND the band of course, since the band always wins). As per tradition with the Clarkson/SLU trip, David Angello, father of the hockey player Anthony Angello ‘19, provided the Pep Band with pizza for the bus ride home. As you can imagine, everyone on the bus was quite happy to receive free food. The Union/RPI trip had the first ever (that I know of) pep band post-game concert. Since our bus bottomed out and we had to wait for the tow truck to arrive, we figured the best way to spend the extra time was to make music with our friends and goof off. Needless to say, we had an absolute blast! Men’s Hockey finished their season as 1st place overall in the ECAC with the previously mentioned Ivy League Title and Cleary Cup. This year, the playoff series took us to Lake Placid, NY and Worcester, MA for the ECAC Championship and NCAA Regionals respectively.
Women’s Hockey has also found a lot of success this season, ending as Ivy League Champions and 3rd place overall in the ECAC! After making it to the ECAC semi-Finals game, our team unfortunately lost when Colgate scored with one second left on the clock. While it wasn’t the desired ending, the women’s team had quite the season and continued to make us proud. We cheered them on all year and backed them with the power of the Big Red Pep Band!
With hockey season coming to an end, our next sporting season is lacrosse. Recently, our packed schedule (and the snow) has prevented us from attending the first few games this season, however we’re excited to support Cornell Lacrosse with the pep band soon. This year, we also want to try to make it to more baseball games for the Big Red. As long as the weather decides to cooperate, we will support our teams because WE ARE THE BEST IN THE IVY LEAGUE!!!!!!!
Please reach out to me (zmb9@cornell.edu) if you are ever back in Ithaca or wherever we travel! We would love to welcome you back to the band that is far above Cayuga’s waters and have you play with us.
Hope to see you soon!
-Zachary Brothers ‘20
Hey alumni!
My name is Katherine Curtis and I am your 2018 BRMB Drum Major! I am a junior Human Biology, Health, and Society (HBHS) major in the College of Human Ecology. After graduation, I plan on going to medical school with the goal of going into pediatrics. Last season, I served as one of the saxophone section leaders. Although I do miss playing, I am having the time of my life in front of the band, and still have the opportunity to pick up a saxophone every so often.
Marching band recently came out of their winter hibernation by helping the Hotel School to celebrate the beginning of Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC). On a snowy Wednesday afternoon, clad in hats and gloves, members of the BRMB paraded down to the Statler and warmed up with our annual parade through the building. The event concluded with a short concert outside of the Statler Auditorium for the Introduction to Wines students. Members of our trumpet section were also invited to the Hotel Ezra Cornell Banquet to parade visitors to the ballroom.
We held our Giving Day Concert on March 20th, which coincidentally (or not!) occured on the International Day of Happiness. Because some students were unable to get out of class for HEC, it was great to have so many band members playing for the Giving Day Concert. Hopefully, you were able to spot some of your favorite dances during the livestream! We want to thank you all for listening!
The band has already been preparing for our upcoming fall season. Our Show Committee Chairs held our first ever spring marching clinic. This was designed for members who were interested in applying to Show Committee, as well as prospective rank leaders, in order to brush up on marching skills and help them understand how best to teach others proper marching technique.
In addition, we recently held our first music rehearsal! We are very excited about the music we have chosen for our shows and will be working hard to make it sound great. We are lucky to have a group of dedicated student arrangers who will be working on the songs that are in two of our shows! They have put in a lot of hard work to make our shows unique. Homecoming will be on September 22nd, and we are excited to announce that our homecoming song this year will be Conquistador!
As the snow starts to melt, we look forward to the other events in the coming months! Many of our members discovered the BRMB during Cornell Days, so we are excited to get back to Ho Plaza and play for all of the prospective students. April 21 marks the day of the Spring Concert! If you will be in town, our concert will take place in the Ithaca Commons. The Big Red Marching Band has a lot to be proud of in the work we’ve done in the past year and I am so excited to see what the band has in store for the season. I hope to see everyone at these future events! Thank you for all of your continued support!
Katherine Curtis ‘19