Virginia Pep Band
Encyclopedia
The Virginia Pep Band is a student-run band at the University of Virginia
(UVa), officially known as The Award-Winning Virginia Fighting Cavalier Indoor/Outdoor Precision(?) Marching Pep Band, & Chowder Society Review, Unlimited!!!. In the tradition of scatter or scramble band
s, like those at Stanford
, Rice
and the Ivy League
, the Pep Band
prefers irrevent humor and individuality to marching in uniform formations. Founded in 1974, this group of students served as UVa's band supporting athletics in an official capacity until 2003. The Virginia Pep Band has chosen to perform at sporting events typically ignored by marching or pep bands, such as swimming, field hockey, and ice hockey. The Pep Band has also performed at Charlottesville community events including the Charlottesville 10-miler, the Alzheimer's
Walk, and the United Way Day of Caring.
that engaged in general tomfoolery, often involving their rivals, the West Lawn Chowder Society. Later, the East Lawn Society formed a band, which evolved over time into the current Pep Band. The style and appearance of the organization has changed over time; at some point it even performed a traditional marching band
style as the University of Virginia Marching Band (this is why both "award-winning" and "marching" appear in the band's name). In the fall of 1974, the band adopted the Ivy League
scramble band
style, beginning the modern era of the band. In the early scramble-band seasons, the band did, in fact, march for the opening and closing numbers - in more-or-less straight lines. Marching was later abandoned entirely. The one thing common to all of the current Pep Band's predecessors was student governance - complete control by its members rather than University faculty.
, the Washington Post, and USA Today
addressed the conflict.
During the strike, the athletic department replaced the Pep Band with a faculty-run group called the "UVa Sports Band," a 24-member band which included several hired musicians. The Sports Band proved unpopular with fans, and was introduced at Scott Stadium
only once (where it was resoundingly booed). During this game, Pep Band members protested on "The Hill
". The athletic department reinstated the Pep Band to athletic events in time for the last home game of the season against Virginia Tech.
, which debuted in September 2004. The new band is run by a professional band director and staff, as opposed to the Pep Band, whose director and managing board are elected from among its student members. The University of Virginia student council passed a resolution in February 2004 asking for the cooperative "coexistence of two bands," both the faculty and the student run organizations. Specifically, they asked for the Pep Band's return to athletic events, especially those where the marching band does not perform, but the Athletics Department has not acquiesced.
The Athletics Department cited several reasons for the change, including that football fans were uninterested in the Pep Band's performance, and that performances were occasionally regarded as offensive and/or inappropriate. For example, a halftime show performed at the Continental Tire Bowl in 2002 prompted West Virginia
Governor Bob Wise
to demand an apology from the band and the school for its portrayal of West Virginia residents. The show's script was the result of student writing followed by Athletics Department censorship and approval, and is available online. The Pep Band was banned from future editions of the bowl. This prompted thousands of emails and phone calls to the U.Va. Athletics Department, some of them suggesting the elimination of the Pep Band and the creation of a university marching band. Pep Band Director Adam Lorentson said at the time that "cost is the key reason the University does not have a traditional marching band." After that obstacle was cleared with a donation from Carl Smith, Lorentson was proven right as the Cavalier Marching Band was founded.
Advocates for the Virginia Pep Band, including some in the Cavalier Daily
editorial section, claim that there is strong student support for the organization and that the administration of the University of Virginia and its Athletics Department are exerting more control over something that was historically student-run. They see the elimination of a "student run" band as a departure from what they consider to be the Jeffersonian
ideals of self-government and freedom of speech that the University of Virginia inherited from its founder. They point out that all the scripts for their performances had been thoroughly approved by the U.Va. Athletics Department and, in the case of the Tire Bowl, by the bowl officials themselves. Some columnists downplayed the offensiveness of the band's performances; one Washington Post columnist wrote that the Pep Band was "banned not for the crime of political incorrectness, but for the potential to possibly, just maybe, somehow, somewhere, some day commit it."
Despite the ban, the Pep Band remains active, performing its traditional roles in Charlottesville events and supporting University of Virginia student athletes outside the jurisdiction of the athletic department, such as at club sporting events. On football game day, the Pep Band performs regularly for the U.Va. Alumni Association at Alumni Hall, as well as performing what they call a "pre-game scramble" for tailgating
fans outside Scott Stadium
. They also perform regularly for the Washington Capitals
of the National Hockey League
and the Washington Nationals
of Major League Baseball
.
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
(UVa), officially known as The Award-Winning Virginia Fighting Cavalier Indoor/Outdoor Precision(?) Marching Pep Band, & Chowder Society Review, Unlimited!!!. In the tradition of scatter or scramble band
Scramble band
A scramble band - also known as a scatter band - is a particular type of field-performing marching band with distinct characteristics that set it apart from other common forms of marching bands; most notably, scramble bands do not normally march...
s, like those at Stanford
Stanford Band
The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band is the student marching band of Stanford University. Billing itself as "The World's Largest Rock and Roll Band", the Stanford Band performs at sporting events, student activities, and other functions...
, Rice
Marching Owl Band
The Marching Owl Band is the Rice University "marching band" in the sense that it is the official ensemble that performs during football games, some basketball games, parades, and other public events...
and the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
, the Pep Band
Pep band
A pep band is an ensemble of instrumentalists who play at functions or events with the purpose of entertaining and "pepping" up a crowd. Often members of a pep band are a subset of people from a larger ensemble such as a marching band or a concert band. Pep bands are generally associated with...
prefers irrevent humor and individuality to marching in uniform formations. Founded in 1974, this group of students served as UVa's band supporting athletics in an official capacity until 2003. The Virginia Pep Band has chosen to perform at sporting events typically ignored by marching or pep bands, such as swimming, field hockey, and ice hockey. The Pep Band has also performed at Charlottesville community events including the Charlottesville 10-miler, the Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
Walk, and the United Way Day of Caring.
History
The earliest appearance of the organization which became the Virginia Pep Band was in 1909, when the East Lawn Chowder Society appeared in the University of Virginia yearbook, Corks and Curls. The East Lawn Chowder Society was a secret societySecret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
that engaged in general tomfoolery, often involving their rivals, the West Lawn Chowder Society. Later, the East Lawn Society formed a band, which evolved over time into the current Pep Band. The style and appearance of the organization has changed over time; at some point it even performed a traditional marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
style as the University of Virginia Marching Band (this is why both "award-winning" and "marching" appear in the band's name). In the fall of 1974, the band adopted the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
scramble band
Scramble band
A scramble band - also known as a scatter band - is a particular type of field-performing marching band with distinct characteristics that set it apart from other common forms of marching bands; most notably, scramble bands do not normally march...
style, beginning the modern era of the band. In the early scramble-band seasons, the band did, in fact, march for the opening and closing numbers - in more-or-less straight lines. Marching was later abandoned entirely. The one thing common to all of the current Pep Band's predecessors was student governance - complete control by its members rather than University faculty.
The "Revolution of '93"
In 1993, UVa's athletic director Jim Copeland announced that the Pep Band would be run by a professional band director. In response, the band went on strike, and its leaders argued they were standing up for student self-governance. Called the "Revolution of '93" by Pep Band members, the clash with the athletic department garnered national attention. Columns and letters in news sources such as The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the Washington Post, and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
addressed the conflict.
During the strike, the athletic department replaced the Pep Band with a faculty-run group called the "UVa Sports Band," a 24-member band which included several hired musicians. The Sports Band proved unpopular with fans, and was introduced at Scott Stadium
Scott Stadium
Scott Stadium , located in Charlottesville, Virginia, is the home of the Virginia Cavaliers football team. It sits on the University of Virginia's Grounds, east of Hereford College and first-year dorms on Alderman Road but west of Brown College and the Lawn...
only once (where it was resoundingly booed). During this game, Pep Band members protested on "The Hill
Scott Stadium
Scott Stadium , located in Charlottesville, Virginia, is the home of the Virginia Cavaliers football team. It sits on the University of Virginia's Grounds, east of Hereford College and first-year dorms on Alderman Road but west of Brown College and the Lawn...
". The athletic department reinstated the Pep Band to athletic events in time for the last home game of the season against Virginia Tech.
Current status
Today, the Virginia Pep Band operates in a much reduced role, after being eliminated from all official sporting events by the University's athletic department in 2003. At these events, the Pep Band has been replaced by the Cavalier Marching BandCavalier Marching Band
The Cavalier Marching Band is the marching band at the University of Virginia. The band's director, William Pease, is the first full-time marching band director in University of Virginia history...
, which debuted in September 2004. The new band is run by a professional band director and staff, as opposed to the Pep Band, whose director and managing board are elected from among its student members. The University of Virginia student council passed a resolution in February 2004 asking for the cooperative "coexistence of two bands," both the faculty and the student run organizations. Specifically, they asked for the Pep Band's return to athletic events, especially those where the marching band does not perform, but the Athletics Department has not acquiesced.
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
Governor Bob Wise
Bob Wise
Robert Ellsworth "Bob" Wise, Jr. is an American politician. A Democrat, Wise served as the 33rd Governor of West Virginia from January 2001 to January 2005.-Early life:...
to demand an apology from the band and the school for its portrayal of West Virginia residents. The show's script was the result of student writing followed by Athletics Department censorship and approval, and is available online. The Pep Band was banned from future editions of the bowl. This prompted thousands of emails and phone calls to the U.Va. Athletics Department, some of them suggesting the elimination of the Pep Band and the creation of a university marching band. Pep Band Director Adam Lorentson said at the time that "cost is the key reason the University does not have a traditional marching band." After that obstacle was cleared with a donation from Carl Smith, Lorentson was proven right as the Cavalier Marching Band was founded.
Advocates for the Virginia Pep Band, including some in the Cavalier Daily
The Cavalier Daily
The Cavalier Daily is the fully independent student-run newspaper at the University of Virginia, founded in 1890. It is the oldest daily college newspaper in Virginia and the oldest newspaper in Charlottesville, Virginia...
editorial section, claim that there is strong student support for the organization and that the administration of the University of Virginia and its Athletics Department are exerting more control over something that was historically student-run. They see the elimination of a "student run" band as a departure from what they consider to be the Jeffersonian
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
ideals of self-government and freedom of speech that the University of Virginia inherited from its founder. They point out that all the scripts for their performances had been thoroughly approved by the U.Va. Athletics Department and, in the case of the Tire Bowl, by the bowl officials themselves. Some columnists downplayed the offensiveness of the band's performances; one Washington Post columnist wrote that the Pep Band was "banned not for the crime of political incorrectness, but for the potential to possibly, just maybe, somehow, somewhere, some day commit it."
Despite the ban, the Pep Band remains active, performing its traditional roles in Charlottesville events and supporting University of Virginia student athletes outside the jurisdiction of the athletic department, such as at club sporting events. On football game day, the Pep Band performs regularly for the U.Va. Alumni Association at Alumni Hall, as well as performing what they call a "pre-game scramble" for tailgating
Tailgate party
In the United States, a tailgate party is a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle. Tailgating often involves consuming alcoholic beverages and grilling food. Tailgate parties usually occur in the parking lots at stadiums and arenas, before and occasionally after games and...
fans outside Scott Stadium
Scott Stadium
Scott Stadium , located in Charlottesville, Virginia, is the home of the Virginia Cavaliers football team. It sits on the University of Virginia's Grounds, east of Hereford College and first-year dorms on Alderman Road but west of Brown College and the Lawn...
. They also perform regularly for the Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.