Northwestern’s first organized band, led by Professor Charles S. Horn. Courtesy of University Archives.
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Northwestern University Marching Band
For nearly a century, Northwestern's Marching Band has delighted millions of students, alumni, and spectators with their rousing music while cheering our football teams to victory. The ensemble even performed in the 1949 and 1996 Rose Bowl games in Pasadena and in the 2000 and 2009 Alamo Bowl games in San Antonio.
Adding "a Little Pep and Ginger"
The first University-sanctioned marching band was organized in 1911, when University officials asked Milton Cruse to start a band in an attempts to a "add a little pep and ginger during the football games." Cruse was a doctor on the Dental School faculty who had organized a Dental School orchestra. His efforts attracted 21 men, who performed at the season's first game against the University of Chicago. The "Pep Band" also played during basketball games.
Band member Theodore C. Van Etten, a Pharmacy School student, wrote the words and music of "Go U Northwestern" and the University's "fight song" in 1912. Until then, the band only performed collegiate songs from other universities, and Van Etten decided it was time for a change.
By 1916, band members had elected a student committee that managed the group and oversaw its musical direction. In 1922, under student director Edward Meltzer, the band accompanied the football team on out-of-town trips and performed at the Indianapolis Speedway races. A year later, the band had grown to 100 members and also began to present concerts throughout the year.
Under the School of Music's Supervision
School of Music dean Peter Christian Lutkin placed the band under the supervision of the School of Music in 1926, and Glenn Cliffe Bainum was appointed the first full-time band director. At the time, band membership had dwindled to 17 men. By the following year, Bainum had expanded the band to 80 members. Bainum, an innovator in marching band formations, had enough uniformed bodies to impressively spell out "HELLO" on the football field during the first game of the season.
During World War II, female students began performing with the band because so many men - including Bainum - were defending their country. Still, the marching band was disbanded in 1945 because of lack of personnel. It wasn't until the fall of 1947 that the band was revived once again under Bainum's direction. Band members proudly made their appearance dressed in new blue-and-gray uniforms that year.
John Paynter, who earned his Master's degree in Music Theory and Composition at Northwestern, became band director in 1953 after Bainum's death. Under Paynter's leadership, women were re-admitted as band members in 1971.
In the fall of 1995, Wildcat Marching Band members received new uniforms that were first worn during their 1996 Rose Bowl game appearance. Private donations funded the black, purple and white uniforms, which cost $350 each.
Paynter, who had performed with the band during the 1949 Rose Bowl, accompanied the band to the 1996 Rose Bowl. He died a few weeks later. Alumna Mallory Thompson, who had studied conducting with Paynter, was named director of bands later that year, a position she continues to hold.
The Wildcat Marching Band Today
The current Northwestern Wildcat Marching Band is composed of 143 brass and woodwind instrumentalists, percussionists, a color guard, a feature twirler and two drum majors. Led by Thompson and Daniel J. Farris, Director of Athletic Bands, the band performs pre-game and half-time drills at each home football game and takes one trip each season to a road game. The band occasionally makes special appearances in the Chicago area, performing at Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears events.
The Pep Band, which first performed in 1911, performs at men's and women's basketball home games at Welsh-Ryan Arena and travels with the team to post-season tournaments.
About 1,200 former loyal members from all of the University's band programs are affiliated with NUMBALUMS, a marching band alumni group that was informally organized by Paynter in 1972, and formally organized in 1999. You can hear many of them perform during Homecoming games.