Famous Maroon Band prepares for the upcoming Football Season
In the bustling city of Starkville, Mississippi, the renowned Famous Maroon Band is hard at work, preparing tirelessly for the forthcoming football season. As part of the Mississippi State University (MSU), the Famous Maroon Band is ensuring that they are performing at their optimum level during each and every game.
Practicing under the Starkville heat
“There is a lot of work that goes into it, so we have been spending the past four days here at band camp, and we still have three or four more days to go. They are long days, we are up here at 7:30 am and we do not leave until 9 pm, and throughout the school year, we will continue to practice an hour every single day,” shares Madeline Kelly, the senior drum major at the MSU.
Just as any sport, being a part of a band requires extensive practice and discipline. If a single band member misses a beat, it has enormous effects on the entire performance.
Ensuring a perfect performance every time
“As our director likes to say, if you are in math class and you miss one question, you still get an A, but if one person out here misses a single note, it makes everybody sound wrong. So it’s very important that everybody is working together to do things 100 percent right all the time,” expresses Asher Roe, another one of their senior drum majors.
Senior Drum Majors Asher Roe and Kelsei Moore, are in continuous contact with the squad leaders, ensuring that everyone is synchronized and working towards the same goal of entertaining their audience while still having fun.
One of the biggest bands in school history
With roughly 400 members, the Famous Maroon Band boasts one of the largest lineups in the institution’s history, with a significant percentage of them being newcomers. This immense influx of aspiring participants is regarded as a testament to the convivial atmosphere that the MSU has fostered over the years.
Senior Drum Major Christopher Jolivette observes, “It just speaks to the tenacity of the band; we have a wonderful band program with some excellent students. The fact that we have over 150 new people to come in, and that we have around 420 people, it shows that people really enjoy what we do, and they want to be a part of this family.”
Worth every bead of sweat
Despite the stringent practice schedules and long hours, the members affirm that it is entirely worth it. The opportunity to display their talents in front of tens of thousands of spectators on match days keeps them going. And though many may not regard being in a band as a sport, the Famous Maroon Band is proving them wrong, one performance at a time.
