Have you ever been to a New Paltz sporting event and felt that something was missing?
Despite the excitement from the game and the crowd, it is easy to notice the lack of a band helping to cheer on the team. Thanks to second-year English major Carly Madden, this is about to change. Madden, with help from other students, is currently working to form the first-ever New Paltz Pep Band.
“The process to get it up and running took a long time, a lot of planning, and tons of hard work, and still isn’t officially done yet,” Madden said. “We’re in the process of planning our rehearsals and booking games and events to perform at.”
Jennifer Russo is the band’s other founding member and its vice president.
“I was interested in joining the pep band because it is a great way to play fun music while being involved in a school activity,” Russo said. “This is different from any ensemble on campus, as pep bands plays tunes that no other ensemble on campus plays.”
The band plans on playing at most indoor sporting events, such as basketball and volleyball games, and hope to begin as early as December. Eventually, Madden hopes to expand the band’s performances to other on-campus events, like dance cases or Relay for Life. At these events, the band will play a large variety of songs.
“We have a huge repertoire that consists of music of all genres,” Madden said.
The catalog includes it all, from pump-up songs like “Eye of the Tiger” to Broadway hits like “Defying Gravity.”
“We plan to add music as it becomes available, so eventually every performance can be made up of a completely different set list,” Madden said.
With the pep band in attendance, Madden believes that school spirit will reach a new height at on-campus events.
“I definitely think having a pep band at sports games would result in more school spirit,” she said. “I have talked to many of my musical friends who have admitted to never attending a school sporting event. I’m hoping that having this group present at sports games will not only bring in a wider variety of students to cheer from the stands, but will pump up anyone who steps foot in the gym—players, coaches and spectators alike.”
The band is currently recruiting members and invites instrumentalists, or anyone willing to help out in any way, to join. Secretary and first-year geology major Christine Saturno encourages students who may have doubts to try it out.
“For someone who isn’t 100 percent sure, I say take the risk,” she said. “It’s better to figure out that you didn’t like it than to regrett not making the move at all. Being involved in something like the pep band will provide you with the ability to be creative, be a leader and benefit the New Paltz community all through the love of music and spirit.”
If you are interested in joining the band or getting more information, contact Carly Madden at NPPepBand@gmail.com, or through the group’s Facebook page, “New Paltz Pep Band.”
