The TCU Horned Frog Marching Band is the official

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 ...

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

. TCU's band stands out among other college marching bands in that it performs in an explicitly corps style, usually reserved for Drum and Bugle Corps and high school marching bands. Although the band has roots in military marching, the band made a change in direction in the 1980s, capitalizing on the popularity of the increasingly popular Drum Corps International ( DCI) competitions. Not conforming to fans expectations has caused the band to be openly criticized by some. On the other hand, TCU's marching band was named one of the top five college marching bands in the United States by the College Band Directors National Association.

History

The earliest incarnation of the TCU Horned Frog Marching band was the Texas Christian University Military Band, established in 1904 by Charles V. Kirkpatrick. The campus fire of 1910, which led to the university's relocation to

Fort Worth, TX Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accordin ...

, slowed the growth of the band until J. E. King revived it in 1921 by introducing regular rehearsals and performances. The band came into its own in the 1930s and 1940s under the direction of Claude Sammis, thanks to the innovative arrangements of popular music by assistant director Don Gillis. These arrangements were so popular that at a game at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, the band allegedly held the attention of the football crowd for over an hour after the game. A pivotal figure in the history of the band is James A. Jacobsen, director from 1955 to 1981. Most notably, Jacobsen introduced the "moving diamond" (or step-two) drill move, which was featured on television in 1958, and became a staple of marching band repertoire. After Jacobsen left in 1981, he was succeeded by Curtis Wilson, who began the band's transition to corps style marching.

References

{{Authority control Texas Christian University Big 12 Conference marching bands Musical groups from Texas Musical groups established in 1904 1904 establishments in Texas