ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – While the University of Michigan football team is receiving much deserved accolades for making it to the CFP National Championship Game, another Wolverines mainstay is getting tuned up for Monday night’s game, too.
The 379 members of the Michigan Marching Band (MMB) will take the field in Houston as well. Isabel Jasperse-Cheng, the digital communications manager with the Michigan Marching and Athletic Bands, told Michigan News Source their musicians are ready to play.
“We are ecstatic to be supporting Michigan Football at the CFP National Championship!” said Jasperse-Cheng. “Our students bleed maize and blue, and they are fired up to be traveling to Houston!”
Jasperse-Cheng said the trip to Houston follows the “experience of a lifetime” at the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game. She said band members hope to continue the momentum as the school goes for its 12th football national title.
What’s it like being a MMB member?
The momentum from the Rose Bowl to the national championship is not lost on band members. Abby Dryer, a freshman psychology major who plays horn in the MMB, said this season is definitely worth remembering. “This will be an amazing end to an exciting and rewarding season full of so many memories, especially as a freshman,” Dryer said. “Go Blue!”
Another horn player, junior and environmental engineering student Lily Pegg, described the “rush” of playing during the games at the Big House. “Running out of the tunnel while the crowd cheers before the game is completely electric, and every performance I try to take a moment to take a mental picture for myself of how special of an environment I am surrounded by.”
Ella Blank, a public health major who is an incoming freshman horn player with Dryer, said Saturdays are her favorite day of the week. “The best part is the Revelli Exit because everyone watching is there just for the band and the street is full of energy.”
What’s the MMB rehearsal schedule?
The MMB members appear to work just as hard as the football team they support. Jasperse-Cheng said band members rehearse for two weeks in August from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. every day. Once the fall semester starts, the band practices Monday through Thursday from 4:45 p.m. until 6:15 p.m.
“We usually begin in our post-game set and run through music,” Dryer said of practices leading up to a home game. “[It’s] followed by running large sections of our iconic pregame…with rehearsing drill for our halftime shows.”
Pegg added, “Everyone takes the rehearsals seriously and focuses to get the job done.”
Game day weeks include a Friday practice from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Then they’re up early on game day morning for another two-hour practice. In addition, members learn a new halftime show for each home game. Game days are usually a 10 to 12 hour commitment for marching band students.
How about that Rose Bowl?
As football coach Jim Harbaugh’s mother said in a post-Rose Bowl interview, “They won! What could be better than that?” Clearly, that’s the sentiment of MMB members as well.
“The crowd enthusiasm and personal excitement remains unchanged,” Dryer said. “It is an opportunity that I never imagined I would have, especially in my first year at [U of M.]”
Blank added, “I really enjoyed our rehearsals for the Rose Bowl because we conditioned for the parade by parading around the concourse of the Big House.”
Spending a few days in Pasadena, California and playing at the Rose Bowl is steeped in Blue tradition. “Performing at the Rose Bowl felt really significant as well because of the tradition and history associated with that game and with Michigan,” Pegg said. “Being in the stands with all my best friends when we won on that final drive was the single most stressful and most blissful moment of my life.”
How will the MMB spend their time in Houston?
While the MMB made their way to Houston over the weekend, their equipment truck filled with large instruments and equipment left directly from Pasadena to Houston after the Rose Bowl.
The band spent Saturday exploring Houston and spending time with the Washington Husky Marching Band. Sunday marked a two-hour public rehearsal at Delmar Stadium followed by two pep rallies.
What’s in store for Monday?
All three MMB members who spoke to Michigan News Source echoed a unanimous “Go Blue” when asked about Monday night’s game. They hope the team’s success at the Rose Bowl will propel the team to another victory.
Blank said she looks forward to performing in her last half time show of the season on Monday, and Pegg said she’s excited about the intensity from Michigan fans. “At the end of the Rose Bowl, the band and the crowd were screaming at the top of their lungs,” Pegg said. “So I can’t even imagine what kind of energy we will bring for the National Championship.”
“Regardless of the outcome of the game on Monday, this season has been incredible for the MMB and for Michigan Football,” Dryer said.
The Michigan Wolverines take on the Washington Huskies on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. E.T.
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