University of Iowa - Hawkeye Yearbook (Iowa City, IA)

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More tryouts lead to better quality The UI band program is the best ever this year, Morgan Jones, UI band coordinator said. This is due to the largest increase yet in people try- ing out for the band program. Ac- cording to Jones, the increase has resulted in a greater selection, mak- ing the general standard of each band better. There is a marching band in the fall and three concert bands through- out the year, Jones said. The three concert bands are: the Symphony Band, made up of mostly music ma- jors, and directed by Myron Welch; the Concert Band, directed by Mor- gan Jones; and the University Band, directed by graduate assistants. Each band ' s members are based on their playing ability, Jones said. The con- cert bands practice three hours a week. The most concerts given is four per semester. Both the practice schedule and the concert schedule of the marching band are different from those of the concert bands. The marching band practices five days a week, in prep- aration for their performances at Iowa football games. This year, the marching band had to work harder, due to many of the games scheduled in a row. We didn ' t have any more sched- uled rehearsals, Jones said, but the rehearsals that we had were defi- nitely more intense and hectic. The better quality of the band re- sulted in more enthusiasm. Shane Bock, a junior this year, said, There ' s a lot more spirit this year. The general attitude is a lot better. The added enthusiasm of the marching band can also be attributed to the fact that the first home football game was scheduled later in the sea- son than usual. Scott Riek, a sophomore, said, The mood of the band is higher than usual because we ' ve been wait- ing longer. Besides the marching band and the three concert bands, there are also four jazz bands, as well as other spe- cialty bands.