About The Band
Aside from Director Thomas C. Duffy and Business Manager Stephanie Theodos Hubbard, the band is largely student-run. The Drum Major conducts the band during rehearsals and at games. The Manager works closely with the Drum Major to organize performances and events on-and-off campus, and ensure the well-being of the group. The Production Managers guide a production team that writes each week's show. The Student Arranger (STUD) heads the Musicological Junta, the student team that arranges music for the shows. Thirteen section leaders assist the Drum Major and Manager, lead sectionals, etc.
The band performs at most Yale football, basketball, and hockey events, and travels with Yale athletic teams across the country. It makes regular appearances in New York's Village Halloween Parade. It has been featured on Good Morning America and in many newspapers.
The repertoire of the YPMB is constantly evolving, driven by student arrangers and pop music trends. Besides standard types of band instruments, the YPMB includes violins, bagpipes, accordions, keyboards, keytars, musical saws, and air guitars, and in 1988, was the first scatter band to incorporate electric guitars.
The YPMB's "Squids" section creates large cardboard props for halftime shows. The Squids evolved from the "Appoges" /əˈpoʊdʒɨz/ (after "appoggiatura", a grace note) of the 1980s and 1990s, who handled props but also carried their own "instruments" (frisbees, stuffed giraffes, lounge chairs). The Squids have also been known to handle more visually stunning aspects of the halftime show, such as flaming sousaphones, blank-loaded firearms, and other non-traditional marching band additions. The appearance at certain games of smoke- and flame-producing pyrotechnics has also been linked to the YPMB Squids, but this has never been successfully confirmed via official channels. Squid alumni have gone on to join The Flaming Lotus Girls, The Cacophony Society, professional pyrotechnic companies, and other groups.
YPMB uniforms consist of white pants and dark blue blazers with the University emblem for football games; signature t-shirts for basketball and volleyball games; and hockey jerseys for hockey, lacrosse, and most other sports.
Read more about this topic: Yale Precision Marching Band
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