News
Kung Hei Fat Choy: The UCLA Bruin Marching Band and Dance Team Visit Hong Kong to Usher in the Year of the Rat!
Brothers Hilary Corbett and Sarah Diringer pose with local performers.
On 3 February 2008, fifty members of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band and Dance Team flew 7,255 miles across the Pacific to march in the prestigious International Chinese New Year Night Parade in Hong Kong!
Only two United States performance groups were given this honor: the UCLA Bruin Marching Band and Dance Team, and the San Francisco 49er Cheerleaders. The parade featured numerous other groups from every corner of the globe, including The Itchy Feet Pep Band of Australia, the Futuristic Ostriches of France, El Sol de España of Spain, and the Tahiti Ballet (with Fire-Eater) of Polynesia.
The week-long extravaganza also featured parade performances along Hong Kong’s breathtaking Victoria Harbour, as well as a short performance at the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s elite Sha Tin Racecourse.
It was truly an honor to represent America on the world stage. This was the second time the UCLA Bruin Marching Band and Dance Team have been invited to Hong Kong—is there chance for a third? We can’t wait to find out!
Spring Sing!
It’s 6:30 am. The alarm goes off. Our first shift of dedicated brothers and sisters eagerly wake up, ready to start their shift in line. It’s the morning of Spring Sing—the greatest musical tradition our campus has seen. (Spring Sing, for those who may not know, is a musical talent show, filled with amazing student musicians and a hilarious cast of students who keep us laughing between acts. Filled with celebrity judges and outdoor fun, Spring Sing packs in an audience of over 5000 students). The brothers of the Psi Chapter and sisters of the Epsilon Kappa Chapter have traditionally been the first in line for Spring Sing each year with shifts starting at 7am. Weeks before the event, “Spring Sing” pops on our agendas, reminding everyone to get tickets and join in on the fun in waiting in line and bringing food. While a great deal of joint bonding occurs in line on this momentous day, we have found an even better way to hang out with our brothers and sisters and celebrate the role that music plays in our lives. This year, we decided to go out on a limb and audition as a production (a five minute skit of sorts, with lots of singing and dancing). We spent two weeks rehearsing: three hours a night, four nights a week (a rehearsal schedule that even the Marching Band can’t compete with!) After all the hard work and getting used to performing without instruments in hand (stepping off with our right foot was tricky, as well), we are proud to say that this year, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma will be performing in Spring Sing 2008! So I know some are concerned: but who will wait in line? Not to worry, we’ll still be there. But this year, we may need a bit of help. Come join us! Brothers and sisters of the district, alumni—please come support us in Spring Sing! Watch us perform and help us spread music all over our campus. Being part of this amazing musical tradition is an honor and a privilege we have long awaited for, and now that it’s finally here, we can’t wait to share it with you. So come May 2, please come hang out with us line, listen to some amazing student talent, and support your brothers and sisters, so that together so we can all foster music on college campuses. The show starts at 8pm, but we’ll be there much earlier! If you would like to come join in this fun, please contact Esther Lee via e-mail (you can find her info on the roster) for ticketing information and other such goodies. We’ll see you soon!
For more information about Spring Sing, please visit: http://www.uclalumni.net/CalendarEvents/springsing/2008/home.cfm
UCLA Bruin Marching Band Travels to Arizona
Several weeks ago a pep band composed of members of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band traveled to Arizona for the UCLA vs. U of A football game. Leaving early in the morning to arrive in Arizona in the afternoon, we spent the first day becoming accustomed to the Arizona heat! On game day, we played for the UCLA Bruin rally, small but spirited, and walked to the U of A field on campus. The band played through incredible UCLA touchdowns, desert heat, and a heartbreaking U of A win: 27-34.
Following the game, Brothers of Psi and Sisters of EK met with our Brothers and Sisters at the Omega Chapters from U of A for dinner in downtown Tucson. Despite a hard loss only several hours earlier, Psi and EK had a fantastic time with our Brothers and Sisters. I was mocked by a man taking my order at Chipotle, but I won’t hold our Brothers or Sisters accountable for that.
We bused back to UCLA tired and ready for another week of midterms. All in all, a great trip: 9 hours on a bus, 27 UCLA points, and supporting the Bruins all the way in Arizona. We’ll get those Wildcats next time. Go Bruins!
Article Written By: Sarah Diringer
Band Camp 2007 by Alex Bergman
September 2007 marked my third year as a member of the UCLA marching band, but only my first band camp as a brother: I was now serving the band! I helped construct the band tower, which is where the director stands during rehearsals. I also helped provide water for those warm band camp mornings!
Band camp just flew by this year…probably because we were so busy!
Because we had a performance our first week of band camp, we had to learn our pre-game show lickety split. On top of that, we had to learn our Big Show (The Incredibles, Malaguena), our South Park show, as well as learn new stand tunes as well as being a busy member of Psi.
Overall, Band Camp went extremely well! As a member of Psi, I really felt I helped the band through the often-difficult pace. Our shows went off without a hitch, and I look forward to helping the band even more throughout the year and beyond!
Congrats to the 2007-2008 Officers!
Congrats to our fine bunch of newly elected officers. They are as follows:
President: Esther Lee
Vice president: Christian Tanja
Sergeant at arms: Alex Brown
Director of service: Ethan Mathews
Treasurer: Alex Bergman
Secretary: Elena Plummer-Raphael
Historian: Drew Otto
Alumni secretary: Ashley Kees
Social coordinator: Brick Christensen
Brotherhood/sisterhood chair: Kendra Madding
I have no doubt they will do an amazing job over the coming year.
For Music’s Sake: Outreach Conference 2007
Las Vegas, the City of Lights, held host to Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma’s annual Western District Convention. As brothers and sisters trickled in on Friday evening, the events kicked off with a joint meeting. After dinner, the Green Valley High School Symphonic Band put on a wonderful concert while Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma put on numerous workshops.
For the remainder of the evening, brothers and sisters from every chapter split into assigned groups and held their respective electoral caucuses. All of the nominees for district office came into our rooms, one at a time, for a thorough Q&A session, where they could explain their platform to rooms filled with brothers from many different chapters, as well as answer other related questions. As a new brother, I really enjoyed the bonding experience I gained from this interaction with other chapters. We grew closer the more we played off of each others ideas, and it seemed as if the more we learned about the nominee, the stronger we felt as a whole.
As the evening drew to a close, we all went back to the hotel and met with our own chapter to discuss upcoming events and our feelings towards each issue. We finally called it a night at around 4:00 a.m., when we stopped talking and started falling asleep.
Read More …Psi brothers travel to basketball trips, Lambda Psi Installation
This March, many brothers of the Psi chapter had the opportunity to travel with the UCLA Basketball Team to experience March Madness firsthand! Round one took us to Sacremento, CA, where we had a fun time watching the games against Weber State and Indiana. One of the highlights of this trip was cheering for fellow Pac-10 and Western District school Washington State. We had a lot of fun helping their band get the fans into the game, and they extended their thanks afterwards.
The next weekend brought us to the NCAA Western Regional in San Jose. While the games against Pitt and Kansas were both fun and intense, the best parts of this trip were the bonding experiences we shared with fellow brothers. We conversed with several of the Pitt brothers and sisters in their band after the game and had a fun time sharing our travel experiences. Even more exciting, though, was our trip to San Jose State University for the installation of the newest Kappa Kappa Psi chapter in the Western District, the Lambda Psi Chapter. Witnessing a chapter installation is a once in a lifetime experience, and we were all fortunate to have the opportunity to participate. After the ceremony, we all enjoyed excellent conversation over a nice Bennigans dinner. It was awesome to hear the thoughts and ideas of the newly installed brothers and to spend time with many active and alumni brothers from around the district.
The basketball travel season concluded with an exciting trip to Atlanta for the Final Four! We had plenty of downtime before the games began, so we played the tourist role and visited such Atlanta landmarks as the Coca-Cola Museum, Georgia Aquarium, and CNN studios. We also had fun waking up at 3AM Pacific Time to play on the CBS Early Show along with appearances at the World’s Largest Pep Rally, ESPN College Gameday, and the Hoop City Battle of the Bands, where we took home the top band and mascot award! While the game wasn’t quite what we had expected, we still had an awesome time, and look forward to next year in San Antonio!
State Days 2007
On Saturday, February 24th, the Psi chapter traveled with the sisters of Epsilon Kappa to CSU Fresno for California State Day. After arriving around 2pm, we grouped with the other chapters of California schools and played a very hotly contested game of Ultimate Frisbee. Then, the Iota Alpha host chapter placed us in groups and led us through a great set of KKPsi/TBS Olympics, where teams competed to put a French horn together the fastest, maneuver a blindfolded teammate through a maze of music stands, and generally foster teamwork through other activities. After a dinner at Jonathan’s Amazing Pizza (which was pretty amazing), we came back to the Fresno campus and took part in the Bulldog Bash, watching a couple local bands, including a great ska band with Fresno State students playing. Candidates of both chapters also took this time to interview other members of all chapters.
After spending the night at some Iota Kappa student’s places, we came back in the morning and finished our Olympics with a game of Tug-o-War. Next, we all participated in some philanthropy, cleaning up the band room and practice rooms around the Fresno State Music Building. Some brothers and sisters went home after this, but others stayed for the business part of the weekend, and then came back to LA. Overall, it was a great weekend filled with brotherhood, philanthropy, and fun.
District Leadership Conference
To start off Winter Quarter right, members of the Psi and Epsilon Kappa Chapters traveled to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo over the weekend of January 12th to attend the Western District Leadership Conference. This event was a whirlwind of activities and new information. We participated in group activities focused on teamwork and personal leadership styles. Seminars put on by the District officers made up a big part of the weekend; they presented a wealth of information and new ideas that we can apply right here to better our service to the UCLA Bruin Marching Band. We also participated in discussions like the “PJ’s and hot chocolate” time every night, during which we shared our thoughts on the conference and its application to our home chapters. Hearing from other chapters, both KKPsi and TBS, really put our purposes into perspective. All the while, we were able to make connections with brothers from other chapters and strengthen our bond as brothers of the Western District. We are all especially grateful to the brothers of Iota Pi for housing us all weekend. Psi and EK were very well represented not only by our active membership but also by several of our incredible candidates! Here’s a shout-out to Ethan Mathews for winning the first ever Western District TWISTER Tournament. Go Bruins!
The Emerald Bowl
Last December, UCLA Bruin football earned a trip to the Emerald Bowl, held at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA. The game pitted the Bruins against a tough Florida State team. They were not tough enough, however, to keep the UCLA Bruin Marching Band from showing up!
It may have been a disappointing game, but for band members, it was an exciting trip. We got a chance to see much more of San Francisco than we normally see on our Bay Area trips. And unlike previous band trips, we got to stay at a Crowne Plaza Hotel just one block away from Union Square and two blocks away from China Town. Upon arrival in San Francisco, we had the rest of the evening to do as we wished; a couple of groups dined at the Cheesecake Factory, and could not resist doing a quick eight-clap in the restaurant! The next morning, Bruin fans were everywhere as we ate breakfast, did some last minute shopping, and packed everything back onto the buses. Soon enough, the UCLA Bruin Marching Band was ready to march into the stadium (not without our uniforms and a few sectionals, of course).
We played our hearts out, as did the team, but just could not keep our lead against the Seminoles. We left the stadium disappointed, but ready to head home to warmer weather. Warmer weather, however, seemed to be further away than we thought. Ice on the freeways and high winds forced us to take long detours, and the band returned to UCLA almost three hours later than scheduled. Of course, some band members slept through the whole thing, and were quite confused at the fact that it was light outside until they took a glance at their watches. Overall, it was a fun trip, and, once again, the UCLA Bruin Marching Band returned home with lots of stories and memories. —Gabby