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It's almost Thanksgiving and about this time, we have a good idea on how the band is going to be for the rest of this season. For some mysterious reason, our numbers have dwindled (like they always do), and this year, we seem to have taken most of the hit in the trumpet section. I knew it was too good to be true. I guess having 17 trumpets on the rolls was just too much for this group. |
At the California All Stars game, we started the pregame with only two trumpets. Another one showed up midway through, but it was a bit shocking to see such a large section so small in numbers. Yesterday, at the women's game against Syracuse, we had only four trumpets, a far cry from 8-12 that we had at Midnight Magic. This concerned Mike so much (and I am theorizing here) that he had an open discussion last Monday to try to see what, if anything, is ticking us off. One of the things that seems to have happened is that a number of trumpets who showed up regularly last year because they felt they were desperately needed (and they were, too), don't feel that way anymore.
I don't really know what, if anything, Mike can do to make things any better. Maybe the schedule is just too much for a lot of people. Maybe, once they discovered other, less demanding groups like the Wind Ensemble, they decided this was not for them. Maybe we're just advertising to the wrong group of people. Maybe there just aren't enough basketball fans who also play musical instruments. Maybe that will all improve as the team improves.
Last night, as we waited for our pizza to arrive, a number of band members expressed concern and disdain for the athletic department's practice of playing taped (CD) music when the band could be playing live. These same members said that we definitely do not play enough. I decided to write a definitive statement about what I think we as a band should be doing.
Those are my opinions and I must admit that I don't expect us to get there immediately. However, I want it noted what I think we should do.
December 1, 1997 - 1. Background - making a stand. We had a band, a decent band, at the 11/23 Women's basketball game. We were ready to play 30 minutes before the start of the game. So what happened? We waited and waited and waited while athletics played their canned music to an almost empty Bren Center. Once the game started...
December 21, 1997 - The Orange County Register really has it in for the UCI men's basketball team. Janis Carr, the sports writer assigned to UCI, wrote the following in his pregame prospectus. The Anteaters are looking for their first victory against a Division I team, and it is doubtful it will come against the Pilots. Portland is coming off a 79-64 victory...