The Miami University Marching Band (MUMB) is the

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

. Founded in 1935, the band is an organization which fields 270 students enrolled in the

system. The band is a part of the College of Creative Arts and the Department of Music, representing the students of the college at all home

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

games, as well as at various away games,

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s, parades, and marching band festivals.

History

The Miami University Marching Band was formed in 1935 by A.D. Lekvold, the first director of bands from 1936 to 1960. Their first uniforms consisted of white trousers, red capes, and red coats. During the 1950s, the band fielded 96 members and would take annual road trips to

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

, and the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. Additionally, around this time the Shakerettes, drill team, and majorettes first appeared. Under Nicholas Poccia, the band was enlarged from 96 to 144 students. Over 200 people were involved as either a field marcher or an alternate. The late 60's brought the marching band new uniforms consisting of blue uniforms with a big 'M' on the front and an Indian on the back. In 1971, the Miami Marching Machine came into existence. The Marching Machine was built by

Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricul ...

and

Tau Beta Sigma Tau Beta Sigma Honorary Band Sorority, (, colloquially referred to as TBSigma or TBS) is a co-educational service sorority. The sorority, headquartered at the historic Stillwater Santa Fe Depot in Stillwater, Oklahoma, numbers over 3,800 active m ...

, and was a birthday gift to Mr. Poccia from the marching band. The Marching Machine was a tank-like structure placed over Dr. Clay, the Tuba instructor's,

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

, and it became the mascot of the band. It was always at the head of all the parades and even made an appearance at a

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

game. The Marching Machine remained an integral part of the marching band until 1979. In 1978, Dr. Jack Liles became director of the band. Dr. Liles made a significant impact on the style of marching the band would use. MUMB adapted the current drum corps style, in contrast to the prior dance style of marching. The color guard and front pit were introduced to the band, keeping with current trends in marching bands around the nation. The 1980s were a huge growth period for the band, not only in quantity, but quality. In 1999, Mr. David Shaffer was appointed director of the marching band. During Mr. Shaffer's tenure as director, the Marching Band performed at the 2003 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and 2 Football Bowl games. In 2009, he was succeeded by Dr. Stephen Lytle, who led the band in performances with jazz legend

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...

as well as appearances in the 2010 Frozen Four, the 2010 MAC Football Championship, the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl, the 2011 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade, and the 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl. Dr. Brooke Johnson was appointed interim director in 2018 and gained the position of Director of Athletic Bands in 2019.

Instrumentation

The Miami University Marching Band consists of about 270 members, featuring

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

, and a pit percussion section.

Baton twirlers Baton twirling involves using the body to spin a metal rod in a coordinated routine. It is similar to rhythmic gymnastics or color guard. Description Twirling combines dance, agility, coordination and flexibility while manipulating a single bat ...

, a

color guard In Military, military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of Colours, standards and guidons, regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the militar ...

, and a

dance team A dance squad or dance team, sometimes called a pom squad or song team, is a team of participants that participates in competitive dance. A dance squad can also include: a jazz squad, ballet squad, or any kind of religion dance squad. Dance squads ...

(called the Shakerettes) also perform with the band.

Directors

*A.D. Lekvold, 1935-1960 *Nicholas Poccia, 1960-1978 *Dr. Jack Liles, 1978-1999 *David Shaffer, 1999-2009 *Dr. Stephen Lytle, 2009-2018 *Dr. Brooke Johnson, 2018–present

Notable performances

Every other year, the band travels with the football team to the rival

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. Though they will move to the Big 12 Conference (XII) the teams are currently a part of the American Athletic Conference (The American), which from 1979 ...

to play for the Victory Bell. Additionally, since 2000, MUMB has performed in the following bowl games: the

2003 GMAC Bowl The 2003 GMAC Bowl was an American college football bowl game. It was part of the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The game featured the Louisville Cardinals, and the Miami RedHawks. Game summary Miami started the scoring with quarterback ...

, the 2004 Independence Bowl, the

2010 MAC Championship Game The 2010 MAC Championship Game was played at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 3, 2010, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan to determine the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season, 2010 college football, football champion of the Mid-American C ...

, the 2010 GoDaddy.com Bowl, the

2016 St. Petersburg Bowl The 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played on December 26, 2016 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The ninth edition of the St. Petersburg Bowl featured the 2016 Mi ...

, the 2020 LendingTree Bowl, and most recently the 2021 Frisco Football Classic. In 2003, the band traveled to New York City to perform in the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

, and returned again in 2011. The MUMB also marched in the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade on behalf of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and is a perennial feature in the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Bands of America Bands of America (BOA) is a music education advocacy organization and promoter of high school marching band competitions in the United States, such as the annual Grand National Championships. Established in 1975 as Marching Bands of America (MBA), ...

Grand Nationals.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Mid-American Conference marching bands Miami University Musical groups established in 1935 1935 establishments in Ohio