Approximately 275 high school students from 18 high schools joined the Marching Mocs to perform at halftime and in the stands when Chattanooga Football played Mercer University on October, 25 at Finley Stadium. Band Day has been an annual event at UTC for the last eight years.
“For us, this is a great recruiting tool. We want students to come have a fun time and to come to UTC and join the band,” said Dr. Erika Schafer, Assistant Band Director. “For a lot of the high school students, it’s a very special experience, a very elite experience, to perform with a college band. The big stadium, the cheering crowd, the nice field. To have that loud band playing is amazing to them, I think. We hope to inspire them, and to inspire them to keep active in music in high school and beyond high school.”
Students traveled from Tullahoma, Tennessee and Copperhill, Tennessee. One school, Hanceville High School from Hanceville, Alabama, had their own football game the night before. The students, along with their band director and some parents, spent Friday night in their band room and then got up at 4 a.m. to come participate in Band Day.
“The dedication that these high school students exhibit in order to participate in Band Day is remarkable. These are the types of students we want at UTC, these dedicated students,” said Schafer.
The Marching Mocs invite everyone in the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association. That organization consists primarily of the high school band directors in East Tennessee. Whole schools are encouraged to come, though occasionally individuals or smaller groups come.
The day began at 8 a.m., when students split up into sectionals to practice and become acquainted with the UTC students. This was followed by a rehearsal in the stands.
“There’s a bit of organization that goes into that because we have certain tunes for first downs, for touchdowns, extra points, etcetera, so they have to learn the timing of those songs, as well as the signals for when we start and stop, because we all need to be starting and stopping together,” said Schafer.
The game began at noon, which presented an additional challenge for Band Day organizers – this game usually begins at 2 p.m., which meant the group had two less hours of practice time.
The game promoted breast cancer awareness and the theme of the halftime performance was a tribute to survivors. Tunes included “December 1963 (Oh What A Night)” by The Four Seasons, “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi, and “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gainer.
“Some of the bands have small programs and a small amount of funding. There aren’t a lot of performance opportunities in their area. For them, this is like performing on Broadway. One student said, ‘This is the opportunity of a lifetime.’ It gets them excited about music and about college. We feel that we are inspiring young musicians to continue being active in music. We are inspiring young people to dream and think big, that anything is possible. It’s great we get to provide that experience for them,” said Schafer.
