By Ned C. Deihl
It’s the 50th birthday for the PSU Silks! Thinking back 50 years it seems like a long time has passed but also feels like just a few years ago.
In the early 70s after a few years of tweaking, the totally revamped PSU pregame was solidly in place. The Floating LIONS was becoming the Blue Band’s downfield trademark and we wanted to dress up the band. The flags would front the band entering down the field and would then serve as a background for the formations. They would add a bit of color to the all-male band, waving high above the band.
The flag-carrying Blue Banders hadn't qualified for playing a horn but had to be very good marchers, of course: "pick 'em up"!! A few trombonists were understandably unhappy when they found they were no longer the front line on the downfield block. I know how exhilarating it is to march out front as I did at Miami of Ohio when our band paraded through town before each home game -- with clarinets in the front rank.
My wife Jan made the first Blue Band flags (a la Betsy Ross?), spending many hours on the floor cutting and hemming the three-foot by seven-foot flags. She bought the materials from an outlet in Altoona, choosing shimmering satin-finish fabric in differing colors to represent the school colors of the various opponents in Penn State's schedule. We purchased their long wooden dowel poles from O.W. Houts. Now, the PSU silks are all blue but we have other opponents’ flags hanging in the huge band room -- adding new ones to the Big Fourteen?
Later, flags were called "silks,” perhaps due to drum corps influence. Their poles are now lightweight aluminum and the colors are all blue and white. With those changes, flag twirling with intricate routines has become a big part of the Blue Band half-time shows.
Typically, the Blue Band marches a full block of silks with 30 on-field performers. But just as the Blue Band has grown in numbers, so too the silks might grow in numbers sometime in the future.
For now, it’s HAPPY 50th to the Silks. Here’s looking at 50 years more.
Dear ABBA,
We stand TODAY! We would like to introduce our three dancers: Carson Pedaci, Justin
Kim, and Jocelyn Hibbard. Justin is a 4th year trombone in Blue Band. Jocelyn is a second year piccolo in Blue Band. Carson is a third year mellophone in Blue Band and currently our drum major. WE ARE so excited for them to have the opportunity to participate in THON 2024 in such a meaningful way. Please see the following three links if you are interested in donating directly to their individual participant DonorDrive pages.
Jocelyn
Carson
You can also donate directly to Band Together’s DonorDrive page!
Just like last year, we have the amazing privilege of hosting an adventure for the THON Explorer’s program. We have three families signed up, but have an open door policy for more families to come be part of our adventure. THON families will be coming to the Blue Band Building and getting to spend a day as a Penn State athletic band member. Members of Blue Band, Pride of the Lions pep bands (fall and spring), and Hockey Band will be present to provide an immersive experience for families and kids.
As always, we appreciate your support and donations. Our organization is successful because of donors like you. This year, we hope to surpass last year’s fundraising total of $32,000. All proceeds benefit THON. Please consider donating this weekend!
FTK!
Sincerely,
Justin Kim and Katie Baker
Overall Chairs, Band Together Benefitting THON
Welcome to our newest Board members:
John Rohrbach
Jim Westlake
Curt Harler
A huge thank you to these board members who have fulfilled their two consecutive terms:
Becky Burley (Communications chair)
Matt Gregory (Secretary)
Aaron Magano (Membership chair)
The rest of this year's board members are as follows:
Elizabeth Beckman - Nemenz
Brett Butler - Historian / Golf Tournament Committee
Rachel Harvey
John Kovalchik
Larry Parko
Mark Poblete
Charles Robey - Secretary
Kevin Sobalcik - Interim Homecoming Chair
Aaron Terranova
Marv Walton
Jim Westlake - Performances
Lynn Yingling - A&A Alumni Board chair
Non-voting members include
Randy Seely - President (president@psualumnibands.org)
Doug Czekaj - Past Treasuer - Accounts Payable
Judy Seely - Treasurer
If you have any topics of discussion you'd like the board to address, send an email to either info@psualumnibands.org or president@psualumnibands.org).
Board meetings are held at least quarterly - in person at least once a year and virtually. We are always looking for volunteers who are not on the board, including for the Golf Tournament in June and Homecoming in the fall. There are many opportunities to serve, so please reach out if you are interested.
By CURT HARLER
The Penn State Nittany Lions made their first appearance in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the Blue Band rocked the city.
For current Blue Band members, the trip was different in many ways. “Performing in an indoor NFL stadium was a new and exciting experience that proved to be very different from performing in Beaver Stadium,” says Blue Band Vice President Cara Arnoldi. She is the Band’s president-elect.
The Blue Band’s performance pre-game that afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was every bit as classy as the car. Marching out for pre-game was – quite literally – breathtaking. “I was thinking what I always think: "Yay! Oh, my goodness! It’s pregame time!" and "Man, I'm going to be breathing heavily after this one!" Arnoldi recalls. Since Blue Band did not have time to stop for the National Anthem or the Alma Mater, pre-game was a fast-paced and exciting performance.
Blue Band President Evan Linkimer, Beaver, PA agrees about the focus. “While each pregame is unique in its own sense, from my perspective performing a pregame at the Peach Bowl or Rose Bowl is not very different from performing in Beaver Stadium,” he feels. “We’re all so focused on marching our spots and hitting every note and step just right to show that, whether home or away, the Blue Band puts on an excellent show.” Blue Band members agree that the atmosphere in Mercedes Benz Stadium was unreal. “Seeing the size of the stadium from the perspective of the field for the first time truly took my breath away and let me appreciate the opportunity of where I was,” says Linkimer. He is a fourth year mellophone player majoring in international politics.
The trip was the first ever to a Peach Bowl for the Nittany Lions. Although the Lions lost to the Ole Miss Rebels 38-25, the Blue Band went home winners.
It is not quite true that every thoroughfare in Atlanta has the word “peach” in somewhere. Still, Blue Band members were just about as ubiquitous, including a gig at the Aquarium and the pep rallies. Linkimer says the Peach Bowl brought excitement with a new city to explore and Bowl events to participate in.
“Performing within Mercedes Benz Stadium was a unique experience that not even the Rose Bowl can provide,” he says.
The audience engaged with the Blue Band’s halftime selections. The HipHop show had tunes that resonated with alumni and students. There was something for everyone in the stadium. “Even when performing our stand tunes, the ‘student section’ appeared to enjoy our selections,” Arnoldi says. A third-year baritone from Chalfont, PA, she has a dual major in communications and political science through the Schreyer Honors College.
“The crowd loved our halftime show,” Linkimer agrees. Traveling with its HipHop Show to the Peach Bowl allowed the Blue Band to showcase an excellent display of its musical abilities. “The crowd seemed shocked at the power and intensity of our music and the stadium allowed our sound to take over the audience,” he remembers.
One memorable part of the trip for Arnoldi was watching Blue Band Drum Major Carson Pedaci rock a dance battle with a band member from the Pride of the South who happened to be the Homecoming King from Ole Miss. “It's fun to be able to engage with the other team's band members, even from across the stadium,” she says.
“Whenever I perform in any setting, I am always grateful for the opportunity, thinking of my parents and sister watching,” Arnoldi says. Her parents played Sousaphone and trumpet in the Blue Band; her sister played mellophone, and a younger sibling will try out next year for Blue Band. Linkimer, too, is a second-generation Blue Band member.
The trip home was epic – the flight was disrupted due to problems with the passenger manifest followed by mechanical issues. Shades of the five-hour delay on the way back from last year’s Rose Bowl! This time, the Band had to spend an extra night in Atlanta and did not get home to Harrisburg until around 8pm on New Year's Day.
Mark the weekend of September 28 on your calendar for the Alumni Blue Band’s 2024 Homecoming events. Typically, there is an ABBA gig at the ice cream social at the Hintz Alumni Center on Friday afternoon and the parade Friday night. The game is on Saturday. This year, the Nittany Lions will take on Illinois for its Homecoming game on the 28th.
Stay tuned for details on all the activities – including an opportunity to get rid of your old, yellowing ABBA jacket and buy a new one…along with other cool ABBA merchandise (there might even be some 125th Anniversary items…stay tuned!).
Written by Curt Harler
The Nittany Lions football team will hold its annual Blue-White inter-squad game on Saturday, April 13, 2024. Admission is free. A group of Alumni Blue Band members will provide music and excitement for the A&A Tailgate crowd. Bring your horn and get a preview of Coach Franklin’s 2024 squad. Find all the details on our event calendar.
The 2023 Homecoming Parade’s “Most Enthusiastic Award” went to the Penn State Alumni Blue Band. ABBA President Randy Seely (left) displays the certificate which came with a cash award. Those funds will be donated to the Blue Band’s Legacy Fund. Joining Randy at the post-parade presentation, and still exuding enthusiasm, were Curt Harler and Scott Anderson.
Help celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Touch of Blue! The purpose of this fund, established by Beth Christina, is to enrich the Penn State Blue Band by providing program support for the Touch of Blue Majorettes. Funding will provide resources to the whole troupe and will be available for Dr. Drane and his team to spend as needed.
Click here to give!
Penn State Alumni Blue Band Association
101 Blue Band Building
University Park, PA 16802
membership@psualumnibands.org
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