Cornelliana ‘Aardvarking’ and More: Fascinating Facts about the Marching Band Stories You May Like Vintage Color Slides Bring East Hill’s Past to Vivid Life Big Red in the Big Apple: Legendary Sy Katz ’31 Parade is Back The University Chorus Makes Beautiful Music Did you know that this iconic Big Red student group is almost as old as the University itself? By Joe Wilensky & Alexandra Bond ’12 For more than 125 years, the Big Red Marching Band has brought music, color, and Big Red spirit to the Hill, Ithaca, and beyond. Students and alumni delight in singing along to “My Old Cornell,” getting revved up by “Give My Regards to Davy,” and locking arms and swaying to the “Alma Mater.” Trumpeting Big Red spirit. At home football games, fans in Schoellkopf eagerly await the halftime show, when the band sweeps smartly across the field in synchronized patterns as it plays songs both time-honored and contemporary. “There is no more spirited group on campus than the members of the Marching Band,” says Scott Pesner ’87, who played clarinet all four years of undergrad. “They evoke pride and carry forward school traditions from one generation to the next.” Most active during fall semester, the band plays at every home football game and a handful of away ones, as well as at festivals and concerts in downtown Ithaca and on campus, occasional NFL halftime shows, and special events like the (not infrequent) weddings of band alumni. The band can occasionally be seen—and heard—parading through the Cornell Store, on Ho Plaza, down campus roads, or (as it notes on its website) “when we’re feeling truly studious, the circulation room of Uris Library.” Read on for 16 band-tastic facts! It traces its roots to ROTC! The band’s origins stretch back nearly as far as the University itself. Wikimedia CommonsThe Cadet Band, circa 1895. A student brass band was first organized in 1870 and was succeeded two years later by the ROTC Cadet Band, the forerunner of today’s marching band. It remained part of ROTC until the late 1940s, when it became part of the wider Cornell Bands organization. It took a while for it to find its style! Initial writeups of the nascent marching band were … rather harsh. As the Ithaca Journal reported on one performance: “The Cadet Band played a few strains, but the principal strain was on the audience.” Continuing their military look in 1923. In A History of Cornell, Morris Bishop 1914, PhD 1926, was also less than enthusiastic about the group’s choreography: “At a review of the troops the band was supposed to march, playing, before the battalion at attention, and then reverse direction and countermarch. The maneuver was too difficult; the band simply marched off home.” It’s the only ‘real’ marching band in the Ivy League! Other Ivies only have “scatter bands,” whose movements aren’t fully choreographed. The Big Red's takes pride in being a true corps-style band: members march in formation and play in unison. In formation—before a packed Crescent—in 1970. It’s the centerpiece of a famed NYC parade! Every other year, following a Cornell vs. Columbia football game, the band leads a crowd down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue for the Sy Katz ’31 Parade—fondly known as NYC’s “shortest parade with the longest history”—culminating in a concert outside the Cornell Club on East 44th Street. Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityBig Red in the Big Apple. “My father had a dream of a parade for the Big Red Marching Band down the streets of New York,” says Alice Katz Berglas ’66, who has long shared stewardship of the event with her brother, Bob Katz ’69, and alumni volunteer Penny Skitol Haitkin ’65. The parade marked its 50th anniversary in 2022 and returns to the Big Apple later this fall. It boasts a unique (and uniquely named) tradition! “Aardvarking” is where a band member, most often the drum major—either atop a ladder or suspended from a railing or other fixed object—bends backward, arms waving wildly, while warbling a series of high-pitched sounds. Big Red Marching BandDoes it look more like a ... whooping crane? The tradition, which dates back to the ’60s and whose origin story remains murky, was originally performed upright, with the hands wiggling next to the ears. “Neither I nor the band is familiar with how this name came to be,” Greg Bodenair ’10 wrote in the Daily Sun in 2009, “but the ritual is surely amusing.” The schedule is demanding! Members are expected to meet four or five times a week for music practices, field rehearsals—where they perfect walking with a smooth heel-to-toe step, taking small strides, and lifting their knees high—and performances, not to mention individual instrumental practice. Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityA Reunion concert on Bailey Plaza. A long-ago director gets a shout-out in a classic Broadway musical! Patrick “Patsy” Conway, who directed the Cadet Band from 1895–1908, taught music locally and later toured the country with his ensemble, Patrick Conway and his Famous Ithaca Band. In stage and film productions of The Music Man, he and other famed band conductors are name-checked by the character Harold Hill in the introduction to the classic song “Seventy-Six Trombones”: “And you’ll feel something akin to the electric thrill I once enjoyed: when Gilmore, Liberati, Pat Conway, the Great Creatore, W.C. Handy, and John Philip Sousa all came to town on the very same historic day!” Wikimedia Commons It’s the largest fully student-run organization in the Ivy League! The band typically boasts around 250 active members (though they rarely perform all at once), including not only musicians but the color guard, which does routines with flags, mock rifles, and other equipment. Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityMaking music on Ho Plaza. Stories You May Like Vintage Color Slides Bring East Hill’s Past to Vivid Life Big Red in the Big Apple: Legendary Sy Katz ’31 Parade is Back The group is completely student-run—from the head manager, who coordinates events and travel, to the drum major, who runs rehearsals and leads performances. The choreography, or “drill,” is designed by a committee of members who also select the music. Alumni join the band at Homecoming and in NYC! Former members—who created a Big Red alumni band in the early 1980s—typically join the current band for a pregame parade outside Schoellkopf during Homecoming and are also invited to join the biennial Sy Katz Parade in Manhattan. Noël Heaney / Cornell UniversityAlumni attend Homecoming—with a new recruit in tow. It’s part of a multi-band organization! The Big Red Bands includes not only the Marching Band, but the smaller Pep Band and the Big Red Bands Alumni Association. (The Pep Band—most famous for its spirited presence in Lynah Rink for men’s and women’s hockey games, though it also plays at many basketball, sprint football, lacrosse games, and more—was a subset of the Marching Band until the mid-1980s.) While the band receives some support from the Student Activities fee, the majority of its expenses are covered by the alumni association, founded in the 1980s. Big Red Spirit, Through the Years A trumpeter with gusto, 1988.‘Bandies’ hang out with the Big Red Bear, 1994.“CU in Schoellkopf”: Group photo, 1998.Close-up on a clarinetist, 1978.Tuba traditions, 1980s.On the field, 1984.Parading in NYC, 1998.On the march, 1970.Spirit and sideburns, 1970s.On the Arts Quad for Fun in the Sun, 1977.The alumni band in Barton, 1987.A drum major conducts, 1966. There are numerous alumni couples! As is the case for many time-intensive student groups, band members have long been known to date each other—and for those relationships to lead to long-term partnerships and/or marriage. By current count, there are at least 80 Cornellian couples who were in the band together. ‘Band Day’ used to be a massive event! In a tradition that began in the early 1950s and lasted into the late ’60s, the band would invite up to 65 high school bands from a 200-mile radius to perform during a home football game. Band Day once drew throngs, on the field and off. The festivities included majorettes and color guards in pre-game twirling exhibitions. For the main event, staged during an extended halftime, the 4,000 or so participants would take the field, perform, and arrange themselves into formations for aerial photos. In 1959, the Daily Sun called the event “a booming, bustling, sparkling display of organizational genius and musical ability.” Women have been members for more than half a century! In what was likely a vestige of its origins in ROTC, the band was all-male for many decades—until fall 1970, when its single-sex policy put it in danger of losing University funding. “Walking into what was then the band room in Barton, I thought I must have gotten lost and stumbled into a men’s locker room,” recalls Sandra Sears ’74, one of four women to join that year. She was greeted with cheers—and the happy news that her presence guaranteed the band’s funding. A piccolo player in action. “By the time I actually auditioned,” she recalls, “I was pretty sure that if I knew which end of the clarinet to put in my mouth, I was going to get in.” The band has its own home on the Hill! In 2013, the University unveiled the Fischell Band Center, a dedicated practice and storage facility that replaced the cramped space in Barton that had been the band’s home for more than a century. Lindsay France / Cornell UniversityThe center offers a bespoke space for the band—and also comes in handy at other times, including as a home base for Commencement volunteers. Located just behind the Crescent, the 6,400-square-foot structure—named in honor of its lead donors, band alums Sarah Thole Fischell ’78, MEng ’79, and David Fischell ’75, PhD ’80—features slanted walls and ceilings for superior acoustics. Instruments, equipment, and hundreds of uniforms line the shelves around the main room, a three-story open area used for rehearsals. A former drum major’s invention has saved countless lives! Physician and researcher Henry Heimlich ’41, MD ’43—who served as drum major in 1939—developed the eponymous “Heimlich maneuver” to dislodge food from the windpipes of choking victims. Just months before his death (at age 96) in 2016, he returned for his 75th Reunion—and conducted the Big Red Alumni Band in Bailey Hall following the State of the University Address. Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityHeimlich conducts the alumni band. And ... each section has its own culture and personality! From the “bones” (trombone and baritone players) to the trumpets and flutes, the various instrumentalists cherish distinct traditions and engage in playful rivalry. (The Big Red Trumpets, for example, bill themselves on their website as “the only real instruments in the Ivy League.”) Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityThe horn section gets into the groove. When Cornell scores on the gridiron, the trumpeters typically do a pushup for each point scored; the flutes have since added “flute-ups,” where a member is tossed into the air for each point. Among other section-specific online presences: the Drumline maintains its own Instagram, describing its members as “incredibly attractive people that like to hit things.” Top: An alto horn player in 1966. All photos by Rare and Manuscript Collections, unless otherwise indicated. Published September 27, 2024 Comments Ron Freeman, Class of 1971 27 Sep, 2024 I played Tuba from 1967-71, an experience that I cherish to this day. I also served on the Show Committee. Oh, how can we forget Prof. Stith? As I recall, more fans showed up for the band than for the football. Reply Ellen Goode, Class of 1991 27 Sep, 2024 Yay, Jeff Weintraub!! Reply Carissa Mirra, Class of 1998 27 Sep, 2024 I was trying to remember his name! He came back to campus my freshman year in the fall of 1994. I think for a med school rotation at Gannette. Reply Perrin Pollak Damon, Class of 1977 27 Sep, 2024 Aardvarks were also a feature of band bus trips. The aardvark was suspended upside down by hands and feet from the luggage rack. He/she would arch their back, throw their head back, and join the chorus of “Aardvark! Aardvark!” Reply James Hamilton, Class of 1974 6 Oct, 2024 Yes, for sure, from 1970 to 1974, the only aardvarks I saw while Maurice Stith led the BRB were in Swartout & Ferris bus trips to concerts out of town. Harry Ludlow was especially good at this classy move! Reply Tom Baxter, Class of 1988 28 Sep, 2024 Thanks to all who carry on these traditions and spirit, and preserve BRB history. The pic of Weintraub says it all. Btw only 80 band couples? We demand a recount! Reply Scott Pesner, Class of 1987 6 Oct, 2024 Tom, it’s roughly about 85, give ir take based on who is coded as a band alum and their spouse is as well. Reply Steve “TZ Tuba” Santisi, Class of 1988 28 Sep, 2024 Tuba Prerogative, Bell Awareness, Tuba Crossing Guards, Tubas Get Chicks, Ugly Man, Tuba Nicknames, Moon Music, Killer Ninja Tubas, Tea for Tubas, etc. — these are the most important BRB traditions that must be remembered! Reply Caitlin Kehoe Hart, Class of 2007 28 Sep, 2024 Band is life. The best years, best friends, best times! I still viscerally feel every song, every move. My children have gone to Homecoming and talk about Cornell and the band *all year long*. I was the band’s first webmaster when it became a Bandstaph position, I’m pretty sure? That was my only responsible contribution to band leadership, though. Reply John Kaprielian, Class of 1986 30 Sep, 2024 It was a wet homecoming but the band still put on a great show! And the football team won! Reply Leah (Minemier) MacLeod, Class of 1978 6 Oct, 2024 Don and I met in Band and will celebrate our 39th anniversary in December! “Those were the days🎵” Reply Paul Herrington, Class of 1981 14 Oct, 2024 Leah – I was in Acacia with Don and never knew he was in the band! Hope you and he are doing well! Reply Karen Viglione Lauterwasser, Class of 1976 8 Oct, 2024 One tradition I recall was writing a set of lyrics for the “Song of the Classes” that featured each instrument section. I wish I remembered any of them. At the time they were hilarious! Reply Alice Katz Berglas, Class of 1966 9 Oct, 2024 As the daughter of Sy Katz ’31 (Big Red Band NYC Parade), this history has been a joy to read – including the photos of my own time on the Hill, mid 1960s. Too many stories to share here (!) – except this one: At his 30th Cornell Reunion, my Dad met – and became fast friends and Cornell “spirit soulmates” with – his ’31 classmate, Class President Bill Vanneman. For Bill’s 100th Birthday, my brother, Bob Katz ’69, and I gave Bill a carnelian Mace, inscribed: “Sy Katz ’31 Parade – Grand Marshal.” That mace has been carried by the Parade’s Grand Marshal ever since, right behind the Sy Katz ’31 Big Red Band Banner at the front. (There are two Maces, one kept at the Fischell building; and one at The Cornell Club-NY.) Reply Beth Allen, Class of 1974 15 Oct, 2024 I remember that first marching band practice in Fall of 1970. The upper class men yelled at most of the freshmen, but when it came to the women, someone would quietly ask “Please, could you possibly try to lift your foot just a tiny bit higher?” Reply Beth Allen, Class of 1974 15 Oct, 2024 I’m class of 1974 but that doesn’t appear in the preview above. Reply Chris Johnson, Class of 1996 16 Oct, 2024 Oh, the memories… Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. 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