Spirit of Houston

CollegeMarchingBandInfoBox
bandname=The Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band
logo=
school=University of Houston
location=Houston, Texas
conference=C-USA
founded=1947
director=David Bertman
members=300+
uniform=Scarlet red jackets with Albino white trim with navy blue striped sides, white interlocking UH logo on breast and "Houston" on shoulder, red and white shako with white plume, navy blue or red pants The Spirit of Houston, also known as the Cougar Marching Band or a combination of the two names, is the marching band of the University of Houston, and is currently under the direction of David Bertman. It is widely known for its high-quality, exciting performances that are given in a wide variety of styles of marching band (corps, military, show, etc.). The CMB is also known for its characteristic tonal quality, following in the tradition pioneered by Eddie Green, Director Emeritus of the Moores School of Music Wind Ensemble, and employed by Mr. Bertman. The band consists of more than 300 students, about half of which are non-music majors, and was featured in the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.

From the late '60s to the early '80s, the Spirit of Houston was under the direction of Dr. Bill Moffitt, an innovator in the marching band field. Dr. Moffitt is credited with creating the Patterns in Motion marching style which was made famous during his tenure at UH. Patterns in Motion quickly became very popular among many other collegiate and high school marching bands as the style quickly spread across the nation. He is also well-known as an arranger of both traditional band tunes and modern popular songs. Dr. Moffitt's music is the most widely published music in the nation.

Following the departure of Dr. Moffitt to Purdue University, Robert Mayes, coming to UH after holding positions at Texas Tech and the University of Wyoming with a reputation for high-energy performances, was named the director of the Cougar Marching Band. Under his direction, the CMB continued its legacy of excellence and its tradition of crowd-entertainment. Mr. Mayes would remain at the helm at UH until 2000.

David Bertman was then hired as the director of the Spirit of Houston, charged with the task of maintaining the tradition that had been so firmly entrenched by the bands of Dr. Moffitt and Mr. Mayes. Under his direction, the band began to take it upon themselves to help to revive the downtrodden spirits of the Cougar nation, caused by a series of lackluster performances by the Houston Cougars football team. Coupled with the team's success following the hiring of Art Briles as head coach in 2003, the Spirit of Houston has contributed greatly to a growing excitement among students and alumni to see the Cougars return to the upper echelon of College Football.

External links

* [http://www.uhbands.com University of Houston Bands]
* [http://www.uh.edu University of Houston - Home]
* [http://www.music.uh.edu/bands/marching.html Moores School of Music - Band Profile]
* [http://www.music.uh.edu/ Moores School of Music - Home Page]