Notre Dame Marching Band
| Band of the Fighting Irish | |
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| School | University of Notre Dame |
| Location | Notre Dame, IN |
| Conference | Independent |
| Founded | 1846 |
| Director | Ken Dye |
| Assistant director | Sam Sanchez, Larry Dwyer, Matt Merten, Alison Thigpen, Justin McManus |
| Members | 405 (2016) |
| Fight song | "Notre Dame Victory March" |
The Band of the Fighting Irish is the marching band of the University of Notre Dame. Over 400 members of the band represent nearly every field of study, and include students from across the United States as well as from overseas.
The band performs at all home football games and pep rallies. A typical home game schedule commences on Friday afternoon when the band marches out from the Main Building to their rehearsal field for a final run-through of their field show, to the delight of onlookers. Following practice, the band marches from the Band Building to the Edmund P. Joyce Center to perform for the pep rally, energizing students and fans alike. At midnight, students and fans gather in front of the main building for the energizing "Drummer's Circle" performed by the drum line to prepare the student body for the following day's events.
Saturday morning commences with an early morning march about campus as a traditional way to "wake-up" students across campus in preparation for game day festivities. Once arriving at the Loftus Indoor Sports Facility, the band practices their field show once more and thereafter convenes for lunch, often performing various songs for special banquets held in the South Dining Hall at this time.
The day continues with a "Concert on the Steps" at Bond Hall, the Architecture Building, as the band performs traditional tunes as well as the half-time field show music in stand-still performance, galvanizing the large crowds surrounding the building. Directly following this concert is the traditional "Trumpets in the Dome" performance in the Main Building.
Next, approximately half-an-hour before kick-off, the band steps off from in front of the Main Building for their traditional march to the stadium, led by the Cheerleaders and Irish Guard, the band parades down the streets, lined by fans clapping and cheering the Irish onwards to victory.
After performing for pre-game festivities, its half-time show, and the post-game show, the band makes a triumphant march back to the band building after the game, and awaits preparations for the upcoming game day and the next opportunity to support its Fighting Irish football team.
With over 400 members, the band features nine main sections: trombones, drumline, piccolos, clarinets, saxophones, faltos (mellophones, or f-alto horns), baritones, basses, and trumpets. The instrumentation of the drumline is further broken down into snare drums, bass drums, tenor drums, cymbals, and mallets. The mallets include both marching xylophones and bells. The saxophone section includes alto and tenor saxophones only. Each instrument provides a vital timbre that contributes to the unique sound of the Notre Dame Band.
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Wikipedia