The Pride of Arizona

The Pride of Arizona (PoA) is the University of Arizona's marching band.[1] The band was founded in 1902 as the UA ROTC Band and contained 12 members.[2] Over the years, the band has performed in prestigious venues such as Super Bowl I and the Inaugural Parade of President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr.

The Pride of Arizona
SchoolUniversity of Arizona
LocationTucson, AZ
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Founded1902
DirectorChad Shoopman
Members250+
Fight song"Bear Down, Arizona", "Fight! Wildcats! Fight!"
Websitehttp://www.prideofarizona.org

History
  • 1885: The University of Arizona is established.
  • 1902: The UA ROTC Band is established under the direction of student B-flat clarinetist William K. Seitz. Wearing military uniforms, the band makes its first appearance at a battalion parade on Dec. 9, 1902. The band originally only had 12 members.[3]
  • 1904: After only 2 years, the band is dissolved due to lack of interest.[3]
  • 1907: The UA Band is created as part of the Music Department.
  • 1920: The band is offered for one unit credit, and subsequently grows to the "impressive" size of 40 men. The ROTC band is dissolved, with the UA Band taking over its functions.
  • 1922: The band makes its first appearance at a football game, and gets 50 instruments from the Military.
  • 1928: Joseph DeLuca is hired as the director of bands. He was known as "the world’s greatest euphonium soloist," and was a member of Sousa's band. The UA Band is the first band from Arizona to perform on the radio.
  • 1936: The UA Band adopts the motto "The Best Band in the West" at the Western States and Philippine Islands Music Conference in Pasadena, CA.
  • 1945: While rebuilding after World War II, women are allowed to march in the UA Band for the first time.
  • 1952: Jack Lee becomes director of bands. Lee wrote the fight song "Bear Down, Arizona."
  • 1954: The UA hosts its first annual Band Day. The UA Band is the first band in the nation to incorporate moving formations and marching charts, and is considered to be one of the top five bands in the country.
  • 1967: On January 15, the UA Band performs the halftime for Super Bowl I at the Los Angeles Coliseum. With 62,000 spectators in attendance, and another 90 million watching on television, this is the single largest crowd the UA Band has ever played for.
  • 1977: The UA Band marches in the Inaugural Parade of President James Carter in Washington, D.C.
  • 1984: "Bear Down, Arizona" is played to wake up the astronauts on the April Space Shuttle mission.
  • 1986: The UA band travels to Japan to perform in the Tokyo Bowl (Arizona v. Stanford football game).
  • 1995: Jay C. Rees becomes the assistant director of bands at UA and the director of the Pride of Arizona. They adopt the slogan "The World’s First Alternative Music Marching Band."
  • 1997: The PoA marching and pep bands release their first studio CD recording, entitled The Pride of Arizona - The University of Arizona Marching and Pep Bands.
  • 2001: The PoA pep band releases their second studio CD recording, entitled Wildcats Legacy Lane - The University of Arizona Pep Band.
  • 2002: The UA Band celebrates its 100th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of "Bear Down, Arizona". "A Century of Pride" is the university's homecoming theme, and the year is marked with performances throughout the band program.
  • 2004: The "Grande Dame" of the Pride of Arizona, twirling coach Shirlee Bertolini, celebrates her 50th year with the Pride of Arizona.
  • 2006: On October 28, the Pride performs (in exhibition) for the Bands of America competition in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Also, a recording of parts 1 and 2 of the Radiohead performance from the Wildcats' home game against University of Washington makes its way onto the popular video-sharing site YouTube. It later received an award for being the 74th most viewed video in the category of music for the year of 2006.
  • 2008: The Pride of Arizona releases its third album, entitled Monkey Feet. The album, recorded throughout the course of the 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons, was made possible by a generous grant from the Marshall Foundation of Tucson, Arizona, and is dedicated to the memory of former band member Eric Bradley, a horn player who died after the 2006 season from brain cancer. All proceeds from the album go in memory of Eric to the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
  • 2009: The Pride of Arizona receives the prestigious honor of being selected by the College Band Directors National Association as one of the ten best college marching bands in the nation.
  • 2013: The Pride is selected to record the Bay City Rollers' "Saturday Night" for a national commercial spot by Hyundai USA, with the additional goal of creating college football's first ever theme song. The performance was sight-read, rehearsed and recorded in a total of two hours inside Arizona Stadium on August 22.
  • 2015: The Pride of Arizona is again selected by the College Band Directors National Association as one of the ten best college marching bands in the nation.

Instrumentation and Auxiliaries

The instrumentation of the Pride of Arizona is as follows, in score order:

The percussion section (Drumline) of the Pride of Arizona is battery only and consists of snares, tenor drums, bass drums, and cymbals.

There are three auxiliary units that perform with the Pride of Arizona: the Pom Line (dance, pom-poms), Twirling Team (batons), and Color Guard (flags, rifles and other equipment).

Recent Field Shows

The Pride of Arizona historically fielded multiple shows each season, some of which had an overall theme of a particular artist or style, and some of which were selections of unrelated individual songs. Beginning in 1995, when Jay C. Rees became director, each season had one primary show, and sometimes a secondary show. These shows had tightly focused themes, which for the primary show was typically the music of one artist in the rock/alternative genre, often focusing on music from one or two albums of that artist's career. Starting with the Pink Floyd show in 1997, each primary show was also crafted to explore some aspect of the human experience, often featuring both musical and visual recurring motifs.

For years before 1995, the list below contains a mixture of artists and songs featured in the various field shows that year. From 1995 on, the artist or theme of each primary show is listed, and if there was a secondary show that year, it follows in parentheses.

Under Steve Steele:

Under Joe Hermann:

Under Eric Becher:

Under Gregg Hanson/John Yoon (Head Graduate Teaching Assistant):

  • 1991: Sunshine Show

Under Enrique "Hank" C. Feldman:

Under Jay C. Rees:

Under Alli Howard:

Under Chad Shoopman:

Directors of the Pride of Arizona

This list is only representative of each director's career as director of the marching band, not necessarily with the University of Arizona as a whole. Even though the title "The Pride of Arizona" was first used in 1980,[3] the term is used to talk about past directors for simplicity. The band was known as the "Best Band in the West" prior to then.

As the "ROTC University Band"

  • 1902-1904: William K. Seitz
  • 1906-1908: C. G. Hoover
  • 1913: A. E. Clark
  • 1916-1917: Clark Leaming
  • 1918-1920: 2nd Lt. Alfred E. Truscott
  • 1920-1922: J. H. McGibney

As the "ROTC University Band and Concert Band"

  • 1922-1923: Guy Tufford
  • 1923-1925: Ernest G. Dobney
  • 1925-1928: Guy Tufford

As one of the "University of Arizona Bands"

  • 1928-1935: Joseph O. DeLuca
  • 1935-1939: Maurice F. Anderson
  • 1939-1946: George C. Wilson
  • 1946-1952: Sam Fain
  • 1952-1980: Jack Lee
  • 1980-1985: James Keene
  • 1985-1987: Stephen K. Steele
  • 1987-1989: Joseph Hermann
  • 1989-1991: Eric Becher
  • 1991-1992: Gregg I. Hanson
  • 1992-1995: Enrique "Hank" C. Feldman
  • 1995-2014: Jay C. Rees
  • 2014-2016: Allison Howard
  • 2016–Present: Chad Shoopman

References
  1. "The Pride of Arizona". The Pride of Arizona. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  2. "Pride of Arizona". Arizona Alumni Association. 2013-08-02. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  3. Grimes, Paul (1985). "The Pride of Arizona" A History of the University of Arizona Band 1885-1985. Tucson AZ: Arizona Lithographers.
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