by Alysse Schultheis
Executive Editor
Lost in the sea of forgotten clubs, the Sewanee Pep Band finally emerged again in 2011 thanks to Adam McAnally (C’15) and Zackrey Garner (C’15), who together with faculty advisor Dr. Stephen Miller re-formed the Pep Band through the Student Activities Board. The new club had less than ten members, but today it has grown to an accompaniment of sixteen musicians. In the beginning, the charter members spent most of their time trying to find as much music to play as they could with a limited number of people. They also faced the problem of a limited representation of instrumental sections, an issue solved many times by custom arrangements from dedicated members or by music professor Prakash Wright.
The last few years, the Pep Band has not only grown in members, but also increased the size of its repertoire, now including a full clarinet and trumpet section. This year marked the first pep rally Sewanee has seen in a long time, and the Pep Band participated by hosting a flash performance in McClurg to raise excitement for the first football game of the season. They also coordinated with the cheer and dance teams to form a parade through campus as everyone marched to the football game. The Pep Band opened the game by playing on the football field for the first time, as opposed to standing in the bleachers, to play the National Anthem. In addition to these achievements for the Pep Band, McAnally also values the “bonds formed with each other through mutual love of music” most of all. Their ability to “bridge gaps between years of study and forging new links between people that otherwise may have never known each other that well” helps bring the Pep Band and the Sewanee student body together. McAnally said they even had an alumnus join in and sing the fight song they recovered from the archives at one game. The re-addition of the Sewanee Pep Band, and the continued efforts of other organizations on campus, successfully brings students and fans together to have fun every game day.