Hello HMB Family!
As I write this, spring is in the air and the energy in the Hawkeye Marching Band program has never been higher! The Iowa Pep Band is about to embark on March Madness (starting tonight with the Women's Big Ten Tournament!), audition registrations for Band 146 are open, and show planning for this fall is well underway. It’s hard to believe Band 145 is behind us — what an incredible season it was. If you follow the HMB on social media, you already know how busy we were, and we are carrying all of that momentum with us into next year. A few highlights from the band’s 145th season:
- We premiered seven unique halftime shows this season, including a tribute to Lou Crist in recognition of his 44 years as the Golden Voice of the Hawkeye Marching Band. For the Penn State game on October 18, we shared a tribute to the Broadway musical (and blockbuster films) Wicked, including a special dance collaboration between the Iowa Dance Team, our Drum Major and Golden Girl, Herky the Hawk, and the Penn State Nittany Lion.
- The most unique feature to this season was our search for the next Golden Voice of the Hawkeye Marching Band! Following Lou Crist's final game as our announcer, we welcomed six finalists to audition for the role during the remaining home games of the season. You can read more about that process here, and meet our wonderful new Golden Voice, HMB alumnus Bob Shomper! Bob hit the ground running by joining us for the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, and we're thrilled to have him as part of our HMB Family.
- The Hawkeye Drumline debuted its brand-new Pearl drums — made possible through a partnership with West Music and the generosity of our donors. The Black & Gold Drumline and Alumni Band Drumline also performed on new Pearl instruments, and the sound was absolutely phenomenal. Thank you to everyone who made this possible!
|
|
|
|
More than 300 marching Hawkeye alumni took back the field for Homecoming this year, a tradition that continues to be one of my favorite events of the year. It's always inspiring to experience our past and present coming together to honor our traditions and celebrate where the band is headed!
We performed in an exhibition performance as part of the Southwest Iowa Annual Band Jamboree in Clarinda, Iowa. We love connecting with future marching Hawkeyes, and this was a really fun trip!
The band had a great time in Tampa for this year’s Reliaquest Bowl. It was a packed trip, with 6 performances, including a Beach Day at Clearwater Beach, a parade and battle of the bands in historic Ybor City, and our game day performances. It was great to connect with the Vanderbilt Band, and it's always a little bit more fun when we get to close out the season with a rousing rendition of the Victory Polka!
Later this month, we will perform with the cast of the National Tour of the Broadway production of Meredith Willson's The Music Man at Hancher Auditorium on March 27. Our joint performance with the cast and orchestra will feature our custom arrangement of 76 Trombones by our very own Drew Bonner (the one that includes part of the Iowa Fight Song at the end!). It's sure to be a wonderful experience and memory for our marching Hawkeyes!
The day after our performance at Hancher, we will hold auditions for the next Drum Major of the Hawkeye Marching Band, as Brandon Alpers moves on to complete his graduate studies in audiology. I want to personally call attention to Brandon's exemplary performance as our Drum Major for the last two seasons. Not only was he a great performer, he was a phenomenal leader for our organization, and the band is stronger thanks to his leadership.
As always, thank you for your continued support and the enthusiasm you share for everything we do in the Hawkeye Marching Band! Our success is tied directly to the dedication and generosity of our HMB family!
On Iowa, and Go Hawks!
Dr. Eric W. Bush
Director of the Hawkeye Marching Band