Washington State University Cougar Marching Band

The Washington State University Cougar Marching Band (or CMB) is the marching band of Washington State University. With over 200 members, the Cougar Marching Band performs at every home football game and select away games.

Washington State University Cougar Marching Band
SchoolWashington State University
LocationPullman, Washington, U.S.
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Founded1923 (1923)
DirectorJon Sweet
Associate DirectorSarah Miller
Assistant Directors
  • A.J. Miller
  • Christopher Wilson
Members230
Fight song"Win the Day" and "All Hail"
Motto"Best in the West!"
Uniform
Websitemarchingband.wsu.edu

The CMB hosts a Band Day and a Marching Band Competition. The latter was started in 2015 to give high school bands in the region a premiere competitive event.

Directors
Directors of the Cougar Marching Band
Director Years Length of Direction
Karel Havlicek 1923-1927 5 years
Harold Wheeler 1928-1950 23 years
Howard Deming 1951-1964 14 years
Max McKee 1965-1966 2 years
John Knoll 1967-1968 2 years
Judd Aetzel 1969 1 year
Richard Uthmann 1970 1 year
John Newman 1971-1972 2 years
Larry Hudson 1973 1 year
Jack Prindle 1974 1 year
Scott Randolph 1975-1976 2 years
Howard Meeker 1977-1981 5 years
Patricia Root 1982-1988 7 years
Timothy Hoey 1989-1990 2 years
Donald Hower 1991-2013 23 years
Troy Bennefield 2014-2022 9 years
Jonathan Sweet 2023- -

Band Composition

Instrumentation
  • Piccolos
  • Clarinets
  • Alto Saxophones
  • Tenor Saxophones
  • Trumpets
  • Mellophones
  • Trombones
  • Baritones
  • Sousaphones
  • Snares
  • Tenors
  • Basses
  • Cymbals

Color Guard
  • Flags
  • Rifles

Feature Twirler

The feature twirler is an auditioned role. They perform alongside the band during all events on game day.

Repertoire

"The Fight Song"

"The Fight Song" is the fight song of the university. The song was composed in 1919 by WSU student Phyllis Sayles with fellow student Zella Melcher penning the lyrics. In 2019, the CMB celebrated the 100th anniversary of the fight song by premiering a new version titled "Win the Day". It retains the same structure as the original with modernized composition. It is now the standard version of the fight used by the band.

The Alma Mater

"Washington, My Washington" is the alma mater of the university. It was composed by James DeForest Cline in 1914 for a pep contest, and was adopted by the university in 1919 to be the alma mater. The version in use currently is an arrangement by past CMB director, Troy Bennefield.

Other common tunes

The CMB plays many songs and "shorts" to get the crowd excited. The most common are:

Halftime Shows

The CMB performs a new halftime show for every home football game. This results in approximately six different shows for the CMB every year. The band also performs a halftime show at select away games and bowl games. The following list consists of some of the shows the CMB has performed for halftime.

2021
  • "25 Years" - Celebrating songs that turned 25 that year.
  • "America The Beautiful" - Remembering and honoring those lost in the 9/11 attacks.
  • "Chicago" - A show featuring music by the band Chicago.
  • "Latina Artists" - A show highlighting well-known Latina singers.
  • "BTS" - A show featuring music by BTS.
  • "Student's Choice" - A show consisting of music voted on by the WSU student body.
  • "Senior Show: Full Heart Fancy + Incredibles" - A show from a prior year that graduating CMB seniors vote on to perform again.

2022
  • "Tribute to Taylor Hawkins" - Both the WSU and Idaho Vandal marching bands performed music by Foo Fighters.
  • "Band Day" - The CMB welcomed high school students to play "It's About Damn Time" and "As It Was".
  • "A Celebration of Queer Artists" - A show highlighting music's most influential LGBTQ artists.
  • "Foo Fighters" - A continuation of the CMB's first show of the year, featuring more music by Foo Fighters.
  • "Santana" - The CMB performs Santana's most famous repertoire, featuring WSU's professor of guitar, Dr. Cesar Haas.
  • "Bill Chase" - A show consisting of music by the jazz-rock band Chase.
  • "Senior Show: Queen" - A show from a prior year that graduating CMB seniors vote on to perform again.

2023
  • "Hard Rock Pullman" - A show with music by Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Nirvana, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
  • "100 Years of WSU Bands" - The CMB and over 100 CMB alumni band members celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of pep and concert bands at WSU.
  • "New Orleans" - The CMB is joined by local high schoolers to perform a show honoring New Orleans.
  • "Shrek" - A show featuring music and characters from the Shrek movies.

WSU Marching Band Championships

The WSU Marching Band Championships is an independent, annual high school marching band competition hosted by the CMB. Bands from primarily eastern Washington and northern Idaho compete in a modern two-round competition format, consisting of prelims and finals. The festival is coordinated by the CMB, and was started in 2015 to serve high school marching bands in the region. The CMB performs as an exhibition group at this event.

Former Members

See also

References
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