Oklahoma Marching Band Performs Friday At Fisher Field
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Fans of football and marching bands both have something to look forward to Friday afternoon. That’s when “The Pride of Oklahoma,” the University of Oklahoma Marching Band, will perform for free on Fisher Field at Warsaw Community High School. In case of inclement weather, the performance will be in the Tiger Den. The activities start off, however, with Young Tigers Football playing two games, at 5:15 and 6:15 p.m., at Fisher Field. The WCHS Marching Tiger Pride then performs at 7:30 p.m. When Warsaw’s marching band is finished, the Oklahoma band will play. After the Oklahoma Marching Band wraps, WCHS Band Director Mickey Ratliff will conduct his students and the Oklahoma students for a number. Dr. Justin Stolarik, Oklahoma’s band director, then will conduct both bands for a performance of “America the Beautiful,” according to event organizer John Elliott. He said Warsaw Area Career Center culinary students will feed the Oklahoma students before the performance. Afterward, the Oklahoma students will have a pizza party at the Wyndham Hotel where they are staying. Saturday, the marching band leaves at about 9 a.m. for the Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma football game at 3:30 p.m. Elliott noted that the Oklahoma students will be flying in to South Bend Friday on two flights, coming in at about 2 and 2:30 p.m. If everything goes as scheduled, they will leave the South Bend airport at 3 p.m. Local law enforcement will provide the eight buses with a police escort. Additionally, Elliott said the band has a semi driving directly from Norman, Okla., to Warsaw, with the band’s equipment. There are approximately 300 students in The Pride of Oklahoma. According to the Sooners’ website, “Unlike many other college bands, which began as military drill units, the Pride of Oklahoma had its beginnings as a pep band. In the early years of the 1900s, both townspeople of Norman and students of O.U. participated in a band that played for football games. Professor John Merrill started the first band in 1901, which was composed mostly of townspeople and disbanded after each football season. In 1903, Dean Holmberg directed a band at O.U. It was difficult to keep the early bands together after the end of the football season because there wasn't enough money to buy suitable music. “Lloyd Curtis, a cornetist, founded the first continuous student band in 1904.” Elliott also organized a visit by the Ohio State Marching Band in 1996 and the Penn State Marching Band in 2006. For more information about The Pride of Oklahoma, visit its website at http://bands.ou.edu/web/bands/pride-of-oklahoma
