The University of New Hampshire Wildcat Marching Band (UNHWMB or WMB), is the official marching band of the University of New Hampshire. The WMB plays at home games of the Wildcat football team, typically one away game per season, the

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

and

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

band shows, and various parades across New England. The band has traditionally had an equal mix of music and non-music majors and claims to have an average GPA consistently above the university's average. The WMB usually marches 80 to 100 members, depending on the year. Its largest roster in the past decade was approximately 125. In 2001, the WMB was invited to perform for Prince Rainier in Monaco as part of a nine-day tour through Italy and France.

Performance style and instrumentation

The UNH Wildcat Marching Band is a corps-style band, which means it employs a roll step and other drill techniques taken from the tradition of Drum Corps International (DCI), and has in some capacity since 1965. The WMB's instrumentation comprises

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s, saxophones (alto and tenor, occasionally also baritone), trumpets,

mellophone The mellophone is a brass instrument typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historically existed. It has a conical bore, like that of the euphonium and flugelhorn. The mellophone is used as the m ...

s, trombones, marching baritones, sousaphones, and a battery consisting of snare, tenors (sextet), and 5 pitched

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

s, as well as

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

s. The WMB has used a pit (

front ensemble In a marching band, drum and bugle corps, or indoor percussion ensemble, the front ensemble or pit is the stationary percussion ensemble. This ensemble is typically placed in front of the football field, though some designers may use atypical layo ...

) in the past, but since 1997, it is no longer standard. The WMB also fields a color guard that primarily uses flags, but sabres and rifles are often used in feature. A featured twirler is sometimes also used.

Organization

Directors

The director of the UNH Wildcat Marching Band is Casey Goodwin, a UNH alumna and former WMB Drum Major and Graduate Assistant. As Director of Athletic Bands, Goodwin is also the director of the Beast of the East Pep Band, a separate organization that performs for men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

ice hockey and basketball games, and the UNH Concert Band. She also teaches undergraduate courses in the areas of

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

and

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

. Prior to her appointment at UNH, Goodwin was the Director of Instrumental Music at Marshwood High School in South Berwick, ME.

Recent directors

*2006–Presen
Casey Goodwin
*2003-200
Erika Svanoe
*1998-200
Thomas Keck
*1997-199
Jeff Bolduc
*1987-199
Christopher Humphrey
*1983-198
Bill Reeve
*1982-198

*1965-1979 Stanley Hettinger *1961-1964 Donald Mattran *1959-1961 Alan Owen

Instructors and graduate assistants

Working directly under the director are a Percussion Instructor and a Color Guard Instructor. In addition, the Wildcat Marching Band typically fields a staff of Graduate assistants — graduate students from the UNH Department of Music — who help as drill technicians, arrange music for halftime shows, and assist with rehearsals and performances.

Student leadership

The WMB has traditionally fielded three Drum Majors of equal rank. However, for the 2012 season, there will be a designated "head" drum major, who will conduct the band from center podium during halftime shows, while one or two "assistant" drum majors will take turns on center podium for pre-game ceremonies and other special events. Additionally, each section has one or two Section Leaders, who are responsible for teaching music, running warm-up and drill block sessions, and generally serving as an example to the rest of their section.

WMB Council

The WMB Council was formed in 2007, made up of the student leaders and three at-large members. The WMB Council is responsible for assisting with recruiting, events, organization, alumni relations, and

band camp A band camp typically refers to a high school, college, or university marching band summer camp. Band camp is often mandatory for members of the band and constitutes the majority of the preparation a marching band makes before its marching seas ...

. The members also serve as a representative voice for the general membership of the WMB.

TriviaUNHWMB Alumni Group
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*The UNHWMB began as an offshoot of the ROTC in the early 1900s and became part of the Department of Music later on. Because no official records were kept, the exact date remains unknown. *Chuck Winfield of Blood, Sweat & Tears was a guest soloist on the UNHWMB recording of the 1986 BS&T halftime show. *In the late 1960s, Arthur Fiedler was a guest conductor for UNH Band Day. *Stanley Hettinger first introduced the Corps style of marching at UNH in 1965. Prior to that UNH had used the Big Ten style complete with high stepping and 270 degree turns. *In 1971, there was no UNH Marching Band due to funding issues *The UNHWMB marched a halftime show at a

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

game in 1985. *The UNHWMB performed at a Montreal Alouettes game in November 2000. *The UNHWMB performed for Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in December 2001. *The band marched at Walt Disney World's "Magic Kingdom" on December 31, 2009.

References

External links

Official Web site
{{Colonial Athletic Association marching band navbox College marching bands in the United States University of New Hampshire