By Wendy Rees
At the start of the Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball season last October, head coach Jim Larrañaga brought his team players together with the Frost ‘Band of the Hour’ Pep Band for an unprecedented pizza dinner at Watsco Center. Later, he commented on how much he appreciates the band and their enthusiastic game-day energy, likening the group to “our sixth man on the bench.
This week, as March Madness sweeps the nation, the men’s basketball team embarks on a historic back-to-back appearance at the NCAA Sweet 16, while the women’s team makes their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1992. Traveling alongside the two teams is the UM Pep Band, a talented group of musicians selected from football’s fall marching band. Dressed in their signature orange and white striped rugby shirts embroidered with the U, the band sets the tone for gameday, cheering and performing complex musical arrangements along with legendary school spirit songs.
Band director and professor Jay C. Rees explains that he is often approached at high-profile athletic events by organizers and network television producers who proclaim that the Frost Band of the Hour is one of the best NCAA bands they’ve ever heard. Rees arranges and rehearses all the music the band performs, drawing on his 30 years of experience as a D1 collegiate band director and his jazz/pop roots as a UM school of music alumnus.
Chris Ricardo, a senior jazz performance major, had been a Canes fan before he started playing trumpet at age nine. Chris is passionate about the band and plans to pursue graduate work in the Frost Music Education program this fall while working as a teaching assistant with the athletic bands.
“My favorite part about playing in the band is blending music and sports, two of my favorite things,” he says. “I get to make great connections with many different people, perform many styles of music, and the audience really enjoys what we do.” He knows that the basketball team also benefits from the band’s presence. “They wave to us, acknowledge us, and they all know we’re here for them.”
Junior Shelby Devore, who serves as drum major for the marching band, plays mellophone in pep band. She studies music education towards a career as a band director. She says, “Playing in the band gives me a direct experience and shows me what my future can someday look like.” Since there can be a lot of pressure performing in an environment with thousands of spectators, it helps when she imagines that the crowd is listening only to the band. She believes that the band’s energy makes a difference for the team as well. “If we concentrate on playing our songs together, on sounding great, maybe it will help the athletes play great together too.”
The Pep Band supports both the men’s and women’s basketball programs equally, performing at all home games with travel to ACC and NCAA tournament sites. “The past few weeks we’ve had two full pep bands traveling with both teams in different cities,” says Rees. “It’s a complex dance of time and logistics since the band is comprised of students from all disciplines across UM’s diverse campus.”
Students in today’s Band of the Hour know “it’s all about the U.” Their unofficial sign-off is ‘LYGC’ which stands for ‘Love You, Go Canes.’ It’s an expression of endearment and mutual respect, but also of support for their alma mater and, of course, their Miami Hurricanes.
