Band Size

SMUPhil · Post by **SMUPhil** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 11:36 am

I knew a girl in the clarinet studio that was told if she played sax with the mustang band, she'd be dropped. She instead played 4 years as a bass drummer just to be able to do it.

They see it as "time spent doing other stuff (mustang band, etc) is time not spent seriously practicing." Kinda like the football coaches getting mad that a starting qb would risk injury playing in a flag football game.

And for what it's worth, in my 5 years with the band, I don't think we ever turned a single person away, and basically begged anyone to join. We gave scholarships to piano players who learned new instruments just to participate. That was with around 60-70 members, so it wasn't like the directors were taking some high-road about wanting a smaller=better band.

DiamondM75 · Post by **DiamondM75** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 11:52 am

Mexmustang wrote:OK, I'll bite, what's his name? Seems silly, don't jog, you might ruin your dance step, don't sing the National Anthem, it might ruin your voice, etc.
What is his hold over the students? grades? sounds like someone needs to investigate this.

I am not having a good day. I edited the post to make it plural instead of singular. It is not one individual professor, but instead, each music professor has his own policy.

Post by **Webmaster** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:34 pm

Same thing happened to one of my best friend's wife. Was at SMU on a french horn scholly, and was told in no uncertain terms "no band". She's a high dolla lawyer now and only pulls out the horn for special occasions. She and her husband do however, more frequently, attend football games. And I'd be willing to bet, that in retrospect, that had she been a part of the Mustang Band, her time on the Hilltop would have been more memorable and more enjoyable than it was just playing in the orchestra.

As a proud Meadows graduate, I too find myself on campus much more often covering and attending Mustang sports than I do for the occasional dance recital or concert (and I think that would hold true even if I wasn't involved in PonyFans).

I'm also, in my own small way, protesting those Meadows professors -- I've stopped giving to Meadows and the general fund and am now giving all my donations to The Mustang Club.

Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex · Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:36 pm

Webmaster wrote:I'm also, in my own small way, protesting those Meadows professors --
I've stopped giving to Meadows and the general fund and am now giving all my donations to The Mustang Club.

How about you send of that money the Band's way? :wink:

Post by **Webmaster** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:38 pm

You got me on that one.

I'm gonna do it.

DiamondM · Post by **DiamondM** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:04 pm

I hope the new Dean at Meadows will help change this attitude, but it is there. And it is stupid. Many many schools of music actually REQUIRE its scholarship wind and percussion players to march in the school's marching band for at least one year. Texas Tech is just one example. This, in part, explains the size of their bands, and in some cases the lackadaisical attitude toward actual marching on the field (they don't want to be there, so they don't put much effort in).

Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex · Post by **Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:09 pm

SMUPhil wrote:I knew a girl in the clarinet studio that was told if she played sax with the mustang band, she'd be dropped. She instead played 4 years as a bass drummer just to be able to do it.

When I was a freshman, I wanted to minor in music but I wanted to play in the ensembles, in addition to Mustang Band. A certain Director of the Wind Ensemble, who had known me from previous summer wind programs, knew I had joined Mustang Band and actually tried to bribe me with a matching scholarship offer to actually quit the band and spend all my time in a practice room. I kindly walked out and never spoke to the man again. Truthfully, the man may have changed his tune(although i doubt it) but that was typical of the attitude that one gets from Meadows. Ironically, if it weren't for the Summer Wind Programs that he ran, I wouldn't have met Bob Brandenberger(Bob's daughter, a Bassoon player, was also in the same program that year) and joined the band.

DiamondM · Post by **DiamondM** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:27 pm

Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex wrote:
Bob's daughter, a Bassoon player, was also in the same program that year) and joined the band.

Eh? Bob's daughter was never in the Mustang band. She was a voice major who was in Meadows for a year and then transferred to a different school because she wanted to do Broadway not opera. Apparently, Meadows had a similar attitude toward non-opera people that they did toward Mustang Band people.

Post by **Webmaster** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:43 pm

I just got an email from Don Hopkins. Sez he's at band camp... Seems like I've heard that one before somewhere...

Anyway...

I found out they just recently added a link on their site to join The Diamond M Club and help sponsor the Mustang Band. Simply follow this link http://www.diamondmclub.net/onlineform.aspx to sign up.

Membership starts at $25, so there's no reason why we all shouldn't Pony Up!

Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex · Post by **Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:11 pm

DiamondM wrote:
Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex wrote:
Bob's daughter, a Bassoon player, was also in the same program that year) and joined the band.

Eh? Bob's daughter was never in the Mustang band. She was a voice major who was in Meadows for a year and then transferred to a different school because she wanted to do Broadway not opera. Apparently, Meadows had a similar attitude toward non-opera people that they did toward Mustang Band people.

I never said Bob's daughter was in the band. If you'd quoted the entire sentence, you'd have seen that I was referring to the Summer Wind Programs that a certain Wind Ensemble Director would have at SMU. The first year I was in that program, Bob's daughter was in the ensemble. It was after our last concert that I went up to him and told him I was interested in the band and he gave me his card. I kept that card and called him the day after I'd given SMU my acceptance letter. Funny enough, he'd been trying to call me since January of that year but SMU, had given the Band an incorrect phone number.

mrydel · Post by **mrydel** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:33 pm

Them there dadgum participles get dangled sometimes.

couch 'em · Post by **couch 'em** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 6:04 pm

Just to pile on, I actually witnessed a Meadows string player lie to a Prof about where he was headed - he didn't want it to get out that he played a completely unrelated instrument in the band, because it would cause "major problems" for him in Meadows.

NavyCrimson · Post by **NavyCrimson** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 6:13 pm

Anyway we can get back to the ol "96 Guys & a Doll" style?

LOL :roll:

So much for political correct BS

smu diamond m · Post by **smu diamond m** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 11:20 pm

NavyCrimson wrote:Anyway we can get back to the ol "96 Guys & a Doll" style?

I was wondering how many times people we're going to guess before getting it right. (I suppose you weren't guessing though ;p)

NavyCrimson · Post by **NavyCrimson** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:35 am

We had a very famous band back then. Even our competitors both respected & enjoyed our music. My Aggie uncle loved us!

Now we have just another band.