Among the sounds of the hard-hitting players and loud screams of cheering fans at Sacramento State football games, the marching band can be heard playing spirited music in hopes of filling Hornet Stadium with competitive energy.

When the football team has home games, the marching band puts in a 12-hour day, arriving two hours before the football team.

They spend the first two hours rehearsing for their halftime performance. Following rehearsal the band gets a quick meal break and then it is time to get dressed. Once dressed, the band performs what is called a troop, which is playing for the tailgaters in the parking lot.

“Trooping is awesome,” said tuba player Taylor Haros. “We get to interact with fans and perform among them.”

The band then plays pre-game entertainment for entering fans and players as they warm up, followed by playing in the stands until the halftime performance. A final performance is given after the game, and then it is time to put the equipment away, get changed and call it a day.

“We are the hype man at athletic events,” said tuba player Chris Peppers. “We try to bring spirit and get the crowd fired up – it can be infectious.”

The marching band also performs for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball games.

Although the band is a great source of energy and school spirit, Marching Band Director Clay Redfield saidthe team strivesto be much more.

“We have our own personal standards of music performance,” Redfield said. “We are not just a spirit organization, we really try to be a fine musical and visual organization. We want to play sophisticated music very well, make sure we are doing everything right that musicians should do and that our marching skills are good quality.”

The marching band has several different roles within the university and wants to be represented as more than simply a group of musicians.

“We are a representative and ambassador of the music department,” Redfield said. “We make sure that what we teach is a good representation of our music department. We are an ambassador to the community and region, we represent the university as a whole and we do a lot of guest appearances at high school marching band contests. It’s a chance to be seen by the region as well as recruit students and let them know a little bit about our music and Sac State.”

This year the band will participate in the 40th annual Santa Cruz Band Review on Saturday, as well as local band reviews in Folsom on Nov. 6 and in Fairfield Nov. 20.

“The kids all get really excited when we perform for them,” Haros said. “I remember when I was a kid and I was in a similar situation watching Sac State perform and I knew that’s where I wanted to go to school and pursue music.”

The band held Band Day during the Montana State University home game, which gave four local high school bands the opportunity to perform side by side with the Sac State band members. The band played Telephone by Lady Gaga and Your Love is My Drug by Ke$ha.

“Band Day is a huge recruiting tool for us so we pick songs that the high school students like so we can show them that it’s fun,” said Co-Drum Major Rachel Lethco.

The majority of the marching band members are Sac State students, but you don’t have to be. There are students that participate in the band who attend local community colleges as well as walk-ons and alumni.

“Marching band is a constantly evolving thing, especially with the unit caps which have made thing difficult, but we try to give everyone that is interested and that can make the commitment a chance be a part of the organization,” Redfield said. “We have students with lots of experience as well as students that start when they get here.”

The marching band has grown in size each of the three years Redfield has been with them.

“We have been very blessed that the students have been very committed and we’re always looking and trying to find more students which is why we spend a lot of time out at the high schools,” Redfield said.

The band has also been able to gain members from the Mandarin Bugle Corps, which is a local organization that focuses on the musical development of the area’s youth.

“About half of the Sac State marching band are also members of the Mandarin Bugle Corps,” Haros said, who is a member of both bands. “The Mandarin is definitely a much more serious setting. I like to call it military style teaching. The Sac State Marching Band is a great way for those who are a part of the Mandarin, to stay sharp during Mandarin’s offseason. So when it’s time to start up again, there won’t be any rust.”

Redfield’s wife, Loralee Redfield works with color guard, Adam Jones is a percussion instructor and Glenn Disney is an alumnus who works as events coordinator for music department.

The interaction within the band is the same as any other team on campus. They are a unit that becomes bonded through close friendships and a common interest.

“My favorite part about being in the Marching Band is definitely the people,” Haros said. “We have all become really good friends and it truly feels like a family.”

Brad Schmidt can be reached at [email protected]