“Strike up the Band!”

Once again, the parking lot behind the Tarr Music building is echoing with the sounds of drums and cymbals as the newly-funded Carson-Newman Pep Band prepares for entertainment during football games. Due to the recent removal of the marching band program, the presence of the band on campus was unexpected. However, a couple of weeks ago, an anonymous donor decided to donate the funds needed to provide a Pep Band for the remainder of the home football games.

Pat Bivens, Director of Bands at Carson-Newman, is extremely grateful for the funds. "The funds to operate the Pep Band came from a private donor and the athletic department," said Bivens. The amount of the donation was $5000.

The Band students are excited about this opportunity. "I couldn't tell you the excitement the band students felt when the pep band was announced," said Carol Olson, junior Music Performance major and President of the Carson-Newman Band. "It felt like a missing part of our lives had been given back to us, and we are going to run with it."

That excitement has spilled over into the student body as well."The students I have talked to about the pep band have been very enthusiastic about our return," said Olson. "I've heard numerous people tell me how dead it was at the last home football game without the band playing "Hey, Baby!", "YMCA", or even our college fight song. Now they are ecstatic about hearing their favorite stand tunes played once again. It just adds to the thrill of a Saturday afternoon college football game."

The Band has been rehearsing every day for the past two weeks in preparation for the upcoming game. They have been working of several new stands tunes and on the old favorites of the student body. The drumline even came in for a weekend drum camp last week to work on music, according to Bivens.

Bivens believes that this is a good step forward for the Band Program as a whole. "Putting a pep band in the stands for now is a step in the right direction to bring back the marching band at football games," says Bivens. "I don't want to get too optimistic just yet. Funding is still a major issue and we are working diligently to secure the funds to support the program." However, she says all of the students are looking forward to playing again, and that it has been a "big morale booster" for them.

The Pep Band will not be doing any kind of performance on the field, but they will provide music during the pregame Pep-rally, the National Anthem during the presentation of colors, and stands-tunes throughout the game. They will be at the remainder of the home football games this season.