Student Matinee: UMN Marching Band

Student Matinee Program Information

• The Marching Band will play halftime favorites with Band Director Dr. Betsy McCann offering commentary between pieces.
  • Ear plugs will be provided to all students & chaperones!
• Students will engage with University of Minnesota students in a Q & A at the end of the performance

Suggested Learning Target

Students will identify the families of instruments that make up the Marching Band and investigate how live music interacts with the social, historical, and cultural engagement on campus and in the community.

Pre-Show Questions:

• Do you play a musical instrument and if so, why did you choose that instrument? If not, what instruments might you be interested in learning to play?
• What do you know about student life on a college campus?
• Why do you think sporting events include mascots, live music, and cheerleaders?

Post Show Questions:

• What did you learn about the Marching Band today? 
• What songs would you like to hear the Marching Band play?
• The Marching Band will often perform Halftime shows that celebrate or commemorate social movements or important people in our collective history. If you were to direct a Halftime show, what would be your inspiration and theme?

Watch

• Halftime - 10/29/22: "Trailblazers" * (13-minute Halftime show video celebrating 50 years of Title IX and integration of women in the Pride of Minnesota. Features music from Lizzo, Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston. All Grades.)
  • Trailblazers: A Celebration of Women in the Pride of Minnesota (7-minute video featuring some of the trailblazing women who participated in the integration of the Marching Band in 1972. Grades 8-12)
• Halftime - 8/31/2023: "Commemorating the March on Washington" * (10-minute Halftime show video commemorating the March on Washington. The Marching Band performs music that was played during the Civil Rights Movement. This video features Professor Emeritus O'Neill Sanford who served as the director of the Pride of Minnesota from 1976 to 1985 and was the first African American band director in the Big Ten or at any Predominantly White Institution. All Grades.)
  • MN State Connect & Respond Standards 
    *These videos show the Marching Band in action! Notice how the patterns, shapes, and movements of the Band connect to the music they play and the theme or inspiration of the show. These videos also demonstrate how the Marching Band connects events and important figures of our collective history to their performances.
• A Game Day in the Life: University of Minnesota Marching Band (A-30 minute video of a member of the Marching Band with a Go-Pro taking viewers through a typical game day of the Band on the evening of Oct 12, 2019.  All Grade levels.)

Listen

• Music and Football: The connection of two popular pastimes - The Kennedy Center (Guided Learning Series podcast episodes diving into  the connection between music and football with Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Reflection prompts for students. Grades 8-12.)
  • MN State Connect & Respond Standards

Do

• Whack-A-Note: An Interactive Carnivalesque Learning Experience - The Kennedy Center (Grades 4-12: An interactive online game of sight-reading and musical notation.)
  • MN State Foundations Standards
• The Kennedy Center offers Lesson Plans for Grades 3-5 exploring the relationships between acoustics and science, with supporting documents, videos, and materials lists.
  • Brass Instruments and Pitch 
  • Percussion Instruments and Pitch 
  • Woodwind Instruments and Pitch
  • Strike Up the Band: Creating Homemade Instruments
    • These materials support National Core Arts Standards and Next Generation Science Standards.

Read (All Grades)

• Goldy Gopher Fun Facts & Jokes
• Outfitting the Pride - A look back on the Marching Band’s uniforms throughout the years.
• History & Traditions of the Marching Band
• By the Numbers: University of Minnesota Marching Band (Article by Mpls St Paul Magazine with fun facts about the band.)

Download the Education Resources in PDF format