MYRTLE BEACH -- In her first season as Director of Athletic Bands, Dr. Rebecca Phillips led the effort to increase the numbers in the improving South Carolina band that performs at all home football games and various away games.
Her determination - Phillips visited high schools around the state to recruit new personnel - paid dividends with the size of the band surging from 248 members in 2010 to 280 last season, a noticeable difference.
"We have a lot of exciting things in what I call 'Stage 2' of our plan of continuing to build the Carolina band," Phillips told Gamecock Central in an exclusive interview Monday night at the Ripken Experience, which hosted the first of six Fan Fests for USC fans.
This year, Phillips eyes the magical 300-member mark, which would make the 2012 band the largest in school history. Last season's figure marked the highest number of band members in more than a decade.
"We're looking forward to continued growth," Phillips said. "We just hit the 300 mark and we're moving towards 325. Last year's growth was tremendous. We probably won't grow by 40 again, but we hope to grow by another 20. That would be fantastic. The big push and the biggest change was last year."
Phillips points to the success and popularity of the football team (20 wins in last two years) as a major reason for the band's rapid rise in numbers. Already bigger than Clemson's band (approx. 225), USC is approaching LSU (325) in terms of sheer size.
"When the football team is as successful as they were this past year, that always garners interest," Phillips said. "Students want to be there at the games and be a part of it. It's definitely exciting. We think we'll be able to be on the same field as any other SEC band."
Phillips said more than 400 potential students inquired on the band's website, and about half were eventually admitted into the university.
"The next step is how many of those 200 students can work it out with their various majors so they can be in the band," Phillips said. "We have new people joining us and some people also graduated. We're trying to fill in the slots where people graduated. If we get about 100 to 120 new people, the band should hit 300."
But just adding new members to the band is only part of the package. Phillips has sought to add more brass instruments since her first day on the job and those efforts are paying off. USC added 28 sousaphones, a type of tuba widely employed in marching bands and designed to fit around the body.
The result? USC has just as many sousaphones as the Georgia band, which has over 400 members, making it one of the largest bands in the country.
"We had one of the largest sousaphone sections in the SEC last year," Phillips said. "And this year we'll again have a sousaphone section that is at least that big. We are building up our brasses, no doubt about it. We had more brass last year and we'll have more brass this year."
Phillips also wants to build the vital trombone and trumpet sections.
The USC band's involvement in pre-game festivities will increase with the debut of the new Farmer's Market.
"We're always trying to build our trumpets," Phillips said. "You can't have too many trumpets. That will be place where we'll need to work to have the biggest growth over the next several years. We have about 38 trumpets now. We want 64. That's our magic number. You get the bugles out on the field and it will make your hair stand up."
The pre-game routine introduced last year will remain essentially the same, though the band intends to incorporate an 'audience participation' moment into the performance.
"We're going to bring something back that the fans have always loved and seemed to have always participated in," Phillips said. "We'll put it in at the end of pre-game. That will be a surprise."
Even before the show begins, the first thing fans will notice about the USC band in 2012 is the fresh look. The band has purchased new uniforms, and the design is currently in the final stages of development. They should be revealed in a couple of weeks.
"They are really nice looking," Phillips said. "Committees have helped with the design of the uniform. The final touches were just put on it last week. We will go ahead and release photos of the new uniform within the next couple of weeks. We think it's going to look great at the first home game."
The band hopes to integrate the new high-definition video scoreboard into its pre-game presentation by compiling a new video to go with the music on the field.
Just like last season, the band will present a different halftime show for every home game. Since USC has three home games (East Carolina, UAB, Missouri) in three weeks in September, Phillips will be very busy around that time.
The only halftime show that will remain the same from last season is the emotionally charged military salute around Veteran's Day in November. This year, that show should be Nov. 10 (Veteran's Day is Nov. 11) when USC faces Arkansas at Williams-Brice Stadium.
"We have some very exciting shows planned for this year," Phillips said. "The only one that's the same is the veteran's salute. Except for that, every other show will be brand new and should be really exciting."
In addition to performing a pre-game show inside the stadium, the band will also participate in pre-game festivities at the new Farmer's Market. First, the band will form the tunnel for the players when they make the 'Garnet Walk' across the street to the stadium.
Once that is completed, the band will entertain the fans inside the Farmer's Market with a concert intended to help fire up the fans.
"The Farmer's Market is a big deal," Phillips said. "With the unveiling of the Farmer's Market, the plan is to have an entirely new presentation outside the stadium. The team walk will now involve the entire band. It will feel more like the bowl game experience. It was a very festive atmosphere outside the stadium in Orlando. That is similar to what's going to happen at the Farmer's Market. It will be awesome."
The halftime show will feature a wide variety of music, Phillips said. Since the Olympics will be held in London later this summer, one show will likely feature an Olympics theme.
"We're hoping to get the rights to some of the great Olympic themes from the past 30 or 40 years," Phillips said. "We're looking to have a variety of rock 'n roll and possibly bring back some of the famous dances of the last century."
The last home game will feature a "secret" show that the band will take with them to Clemson for the Palmetto Bowl on Nov. 24.
Right now, USC plans to carry the full band to the road games at Florida (Oct. 20) and Clemson (Nov. 24), as well as the pep band to Vanderbilt, Kentucky and LSU.
"We'll go full force at Florida and Clemson," Phillips said. "We'll have the band at every game."
Link: http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1363394
Her determination - Phillips visited high schools around the state to recruit new personnel - paid dividends with the size of the band surging from 248 members in 2010 to 280 last season, a noticeable difference.
"We have a lot of exciting things in what I call 'Stage 2' of our plan of continuing to build the Carolina band," Phillips told Gamecock Central in an exclusive interview Monday night at the Ripken Experience, which hosted the first of six Fan Fests for USC fans.
This year, Phillips eyes the magical 300-member mark, which would make the 2012 band the largest in school history. Last season's figure marked the highest number of band members in more than a decade.
"We're looking forward to continued growth," Phillips said. "We just hit the 300 mark and we're moving towards 325. Last year's growth was tremendous. We probably won't grow by 40 again, but we hope to grow by another 20. That would be fantastic. The big push and the biggest change was last year."
Phillips points to the success and popularity of the football team (20 wins in last two years) as a major reason for the band's rapid rise in numbers. Already bigger than Clemson's band (approx. 225), USC is approaching LSU (325) in terms of sheer size.
"When the football team is as successful as they were this past year, that always garners interest," Phillips said. "Students want to be there at the games and be a part of it. It's definitely exciting. We think we'll be able to be on the same field as any other SEC band."
Phillips said more than 400 potential students inquired on the band's website, and about half were eventually admitted into the university.
"The next step is how many of those 200 students can work it out with their various majors so they can be in the band," Phillips said. "We have new people joining us and some people also graduated. We're trying to fill in the slots where people graduated. If we get about 100 to 120 new people, the band should hit 300."
But just adding new members to the band is only part of the package. Phillips has sought to add more brass instruments since her first day on the job and those efforts are paying off. USC added 28 sousaphones, a type of tuba widely employed in marching bands and designed to fit around the body.
The result? USC has just as many sousaphones as the Georgia band, which has over 400 members, making it one of the largest bands in the country.
"We had one of the largest sousaphone sections in the SEC last year," Phillips said. "And this year we'll again have a sousaphone section that is at least that big. We are building up our brasses, no doubt about it. We had more brass last year and we'll have more brass this year."
Phillips also wants to build the vital trombone and trumpet sections.
The USC band's involvement in pre-game festivities will increase with the debut of the new Farmer's Market.
"We're always trying to build our trumpets," Phillips said. "You can't have too many trumpets. That will be place where we'll need to work to have the biggest growth over the next several years. We have about 38 trumpets now. We want 64. That's our magic number. You get the bugles out on the field and it will make your hair stand up."
The pre-game routine introduced last year will remain essentially the same, though the band intends to incorporate an 'audience participation' moment into the performance.
"We're going to bring something back that the fans have always loved and seemed to have always participated in," Phillips said. "We'll put it in at the end of pre-game. That will be a surprise."
Even before the show begins, the first thing fans will notice about the USC band in 2012 is the fresh look. The band has purchased new uniforms, and the design is currently in the final stages of development. They should be revealed in a couple of weeks.
"They are really nice looking," Phillips said. "Committees have helped with the design of the uniform. The final touches were just put on it last week. We will go ahead and release photos of the new uniform within the next couple of weeks. We think it's going to look great at the first home game."
The band hopes to integrate the new high-definition video scoreboard into its pre-game presentation by compiling a new video to go with the music on the field.
Just like last season, the band will present a different halftime show for every home game. Since USC has three home games (East Carolina, UAB, Missouri) in three weeks in September, Phillips will be very busy around that time.
The only halftime show that will remain the same from last season is the emotionally charged military salute around Veteran's Day in November. This year, that show should be Nov. 10 (Veteran's Day is Nov. 11) when USC faces Arkansas at Williams-Brice Stadium.
"We have some very exciting shows planned for this year," Phillips said. "The only one that's the same is the veteran's salute. Except for that, every other show will be brand new and should be really exciting."
In addition to performing a pre-game show inside the stadium, the band will also participate in pre-game festivities at the new Farmer's Market. First, the band will form the tunnel for the players when they make the 'Garnet Walk' across the street to the stadium.
Once that is completed, the band will entertain the fans inside the Farmer's Market with a concert intended to help fire up the fans.
"The Farmer's Market is a big deal," Phillips said. "With the unveiling of the Farmer's Market, the plan is to have an entirely new presentation outside the stadium. The team walk will now involve the entire band. It will feel more like the bowl game experience. It was a very festive atmosphere outside the stadium in Orlando. That is similar to what's going to happen at the Farmer's Market. It will be awesome."
The halftime show will feature a wide variety of music, Phillips said. Since the Olympics will be held in London later this summer, one show will likely feature an Olympics theme.
"We're hoping to get the rights to some of the great Olympic themes from the past 30 or 40 years," Phillips said. "We're looking to have a variety of rock 'n roll and possibly bring back some of the famous dances of the last century."
The last home game will feature a "secret" show that the band will take with them to Clemson for the Palmetto Bowl on Nov. 24.
Right now, USC plans to carry the full band to the road games at Florida (Oct. 20) and Clemson (Nov. 24), as well as the pep band to Vanderbilt, Kentucky and LSU.
"We'll go full force at Florida and Clemson," Phillips said. "We'll have the band at every game."
Link: http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1363394
