Dalton Runberg / The Collegian
A typical Bulldog Marching Band halftime show is comprised of approximately 300 members, but imagine almost 2,000 people on the field at Bulldog Stadium performing in unison. This will be the reality on Saturday when 1,500 high school students join the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band for its annual Band Day when the host Bulldogs take on Louisiana Tech.
“We rehearse in the morning putting together a halftime show that, between our band and the high school bands, will have nearly 2,000 people on the field,” interim associate director of bands Adam Wilke said.
Band Day was established in 1996 by current director of bands Dr. Gary P. Gilory. Gilroy saw the potential to integrate the Fresno-area youth with his understudies and ran with it.
“I wanted to reach out to high school bands who might otherwise never see a Fresno State football game or the Fresno State marching band,” Gilroy said.
Through the years, Gilroy said the department has found that it recruits future Bulldog band members from this event as well as its Sierra Cup Classic where it hosts a competition for some of the finest bands in the nation.
High school students from all over the Central Valley rehearse with the band, eat lunch provided by the band and then join together for the football game entertainment. The event gives the high school students a chance to see what it is like to be part of the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band and get a taste of a major college football halftime experience.
This year’s Band Day will feature music inspired by the popular film series James Bond.
“Band Day is always the longest day of the year for the Bulldog Marching Band, but also the most rewarding,” senior drum major Shannon Weber said. “Imagine if our football team held a ‘football day’ where all the local high schools could come meet all-stars like Derek Carr, Robbie Rouse or Kevin Goessling and get to run plays with them, get tips on how to be a better athlete and to see what type of environment college ball is like. It’d be a pretty cool event for all those high school football players. That’s basically what band day is, but for ‘bandos.’”
This is Weber’s fourth year participating in Band Day; an event she agrees is an “awesome recruiting tool.”
The goal of Band Day is not only to generate interest in attending Fresno State and being a part of the marching band, but also to participate in band for the duration of high school and collegiately.
“It’s an absolute blast to be a part of a college marching band, and that’s what we really want to show all these high school kids through Band Day, and also just to get them pumped about band in general,” Weber said.
Although the Bulldog Marching Band isn’t a competing one, Wilke said, “We just try to put out the best show we can possibly do to entertain the crowd while having a good time ourselves.
“I am loving every minute of this year’s band,” Wilke added. “It is a great group of students that love to have fun and love to support our Bulldog football team.”