The Pride of Mid-America Marching Band

CollegeMarchingBandInfoBox | bandname = The Pride of Mid-America |
school = Ball State University | location = Muncie, Indiana, USA | conference = Mid-American Conference | founded = 1930 | director = Dan Kalantarian | members = 150Ball State University Bands.The Pride of Mid-America Marching Band [http://bands.iweb.bsu.edu/Ensembles/MarchingBand.html] Accessed 2008-09-01]
uniform = Red jackets with silver buttons and the logo on the front and the Cardinal on the back, white shakos and white plumes, black pants

The Pride of Mid-America is the name of the marching band of Ball State University .

History

The band was first organized by Claude E. Palmer, who at that time was the head of the Music Department at the former Ball State Teachers College around the 1930s. Nevertheless, there is not an exact date of the band's first appearance. In 1945, Robert Hargreaves became the new director of the band program. He and his assistant, Robert Holmes, conducted the band for one year. The next year, Hargreaves selected Robert Hamilton as the new director.

was designated Director of Bands. Under his direction, the Ball State marching band was one of the first bands in the country to perform drill patterns on the field. In addition, the band started to accept coeds into the organization, which was previously all-male.

Ending the '50s, Hargreaves appointed Earl Dunn as the new Director of Bands. During the '60s, the band membership grew from 66 to 190, receiving national recognition from its great and outstanding performances. In 1965, the marching band participated in the Presidential Parade, at the time Lyndon B. Johnson was in office. The band also performed for presidents Richard Nixon, and George H. W. Bush.

, the band had up to 250 players, and still growing, not only in membership, but also in prestige.

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The marching band became so popular during the '90s as for its cassette, which featured the Ball State Fight Song, Victory March, and Fanfare. All copies sold out, since the number of copies was limited. Although, a compact disk was released in the period of 1997 and 1998, featuring the Ball State traditional songs, and fight songs of the Mid-American Conference. By the end of the decade, Christian Zembower became the new director. Ball State University. [http://bands.iweb.bsu.edu/History/History.html#1930 "Ball State Bands - History."] Accessed 2008-08-29. ]

In the new millennium, "The Pride" became part of the changes the university was going through. One of the most dramatic ones, was the appointment of Thomas Caneva as Director of Bands, and Dan Kalantarian as the director of the band, in 2006. Under this direction, the band portrayed new drills, and also a new uniform. The fight song and victory march also became part of the change, as for a slight transposition in their musical key. In 2007, the band performed for David Letterman (Ball State most famous alumnus) in the inauguration of the building of the same name, as well as in the International Bowl, in early 2008. [Burke, Kevin, Ball State Daily News.(September 7, 2007) [http://www.bsu.edu/up/article/0,1370,32363-2914-54503,00.html] Accessed 2008-08-28] [ Wood, Ryan. Ball State Daily News. (December 12, 2007) [http://media.www.bsudailynews.com/media/storage/paper849/news/2007/11/30/Sports/Ball-State.To.Play.In.International.Bowl-3126358.shtml] Accessed 2008-08-30]

Namesake

The name of "Pride of Mid-America" was first introduced in the '60s by former director Earl Dunn. Some speculations refer that the name could have come from the prestige and recognition that the marching band started to have at that time; perhaps linked to the sudden grow in the number of members who joined the band during Dunn's direction; or referred from the university's participation in the Mid-American Conference, which is probably where the "Mid-America" part came from. Nevertheless, where the name was inspired from is not clearly determined. Today, the name forms part of Ball State's landmarks and traditions, and has become the main title of the marching band, which is called by this name very often during parades and football games.

Organization

Instruments and auxiliary groups

"The Pride" consists of a great number of brass and woodwind players, and a limited number of percussion players who are required to audition. As part of the auxiliary, the band currently counts with a colorguard, but it previously included cardettes and majorettes in past years.Kalantarian, Dan. Student Information Site for the Marching and Symphony Bands. [http://dkal.iweb.bsu.edu/band] Accessed 2008-09-01]

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=Director=

The directors of "The Pride" have often changed their duties ad responsibilities. As for today, the director is in mainly in charge of arranging the music, and writing drill patterns.

Former and today's directors:

*Dr. Claude E. Palmer (1926 - 1945)
*Dr. Robert Hargreaves (1945 - 1946)
*Mr. Robert Hamilton (1946 - 1950)
*Mr. Herbert Fred (1950 - 1954)
*Dr. Merton Utgaard (1954 - 1957)
*Mr. Earl Dunn (1957 – 1969)
*Mr. Dean DePoy (1969 – 1971)
*Mr. Roger McConnell (1971 – 1984)
*Dr. Joseph Scagnoli (1984 – 1998)
*Dr. Christian Zembower (1998 – 2006)
*Mr. Dan Kalantarian (2006 - present)

=Graduate Assistants=

They often help and shadow the director as part of they graduate work. Yet, they also play an important role by assisting the band itself by often arranging music or writing drills. The current graduate assistants are Don Linn, Charles Reader,and Steve Hippensteel.

Drum Major

"The Pride" has currently three drum majors.

References