100 years of Vandal pride

A class, a community and now a century-old tradition, the Vandal Marching Band turns 100 this year, and with more than 260 students involved, the band is the biggest it has ever been.

Band Director Spencer Martin said in the 30 years between the school’s founding in 1889 and the establishment of the marching band, the University of Idaho had military bands that would have played in parades, but not halftime shows.

However, in 1919, months after the conclusion of World War I, Martin said students were hungry for something more festive and upbeat that celebrated the university and could play during sporting events.

The Vandal Marching Band was born.

The band would continue to bring crowds to their feet for a full, uninterrupted century — even weathering a budgetary cut that caused other state schools to cancel their marching band programs for a decade or more. When Idaho policymakers withdrew funds supporting university marching bands in 1977, Martin said the UI’s associated student body stepped in to pick up the tab.

“One of the things that’s unique is that the band is funded by the Associated Students of the University of Idaho,” Martin said. “We have some support from athletics but not much. In comparison — we’re supported by the students, so that’s why we do all of our halftime shows, except for homecoming, towards the student section, they’re paying for the band.”

Martin said there is much that sets the UI Marching Band apart from its peers beyond its longevity. He said there’s a perception that to play in a marching band at the collegiate level a student should be a music major, but that’s not the case with the UI band. While there are auditions to gauge a student’s skill level, there are no make-or-break tryouts for the band — everyone gets in. He said around 55 majors are represented among marching band musicians and only about 35 percent of those are music majors.

In recent years, Martin has partnered with the UI’s mechanical engineering and computer science departments to devise new elements to make their shows pop. In recent years the collaboration has devised a remote-control drumset and grand piano that can be driven around the field and eyewear for each member outfitted with LED bulbs that produce a light show to accompany the music.

“Everyone goes, ‘why would you want to do a grand piano in marching band?’ I said, ‘Why the hell would you not?’ It’s awesome. No one was expecting it,” Martin said.

For many current and former members, the quality that sets the Vandal Marching Band apart most is the community. Students Michael Eckert and Alex Chambers, both trumpet players, said it is not uncommon for lasting friendships to form in the early days of practice.

“It’s automatically 270 people that have got your back on the spot and it’s just a really great group of people that you can go and talk to and hang out with really, whenever you want,” Chambers said.

“Plus, it helps you connect with people outside of your major,” added Eckert.

This connection exists for alumni as well. Martin, a UI alumnus who has been involved with the band off and on since 1995, said perhaps five of his most trusted lifelong friends were people he met in band.

Tony Bonuccelli, a local school administrator and UI Marching Band veteran, said it is often little appreciated how hard these students work to put together a show. He said the crucible of that experience builds bonds that can last a lifetime. He said he and his family still visit the band when they attend football games.

“You’re working together, and you’re having a great time, and you get to you get to support your school, you get to do some fun trips where you go out and you meet the other bands,” Bonuccelli said. “It’s such a great team building experience and it’s just memories that you have forever — I mean, some of my best friends were from marching band.”

Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.