William and Mary Pep Band
Encyclopedia
The William & Mary Pep Band is the scramble band
of the College of William and Mary
. It is a student-run ensemble that performs at home football games in the fall sports season and basketball games in the winter sports season. Membership is open to anyone currently enrolled at the college.
Mr. Varner came to the College in the fall of 1953, as the new director of bands, and immediately started a reorganization of the way that the marching band was conceived. Now that it had a stable leader, the band began to flourish. In the '50s, '60s, and '70s, the Summer Band program provided an opportunity for high schoolers around the state an opportunity to get better at their instruments and better at marching. The fact that it was staffed by members of the William and Mary Marching band shows their dedication.
However, when Chuck Varner left the College, the band began to hit troubled times. Diagnosed with cancer in the early 1980s, Varner was forced to retire after 33 years of service. A scholarship in his name was established at William and Mary in 1989 and is awarded to an outstanding band student. Varner eventually passed away in January, 2002, after suffering from Alzheimer's.
The directors after Varner did not have the same dedication to the marching band that he did; by the mid 90s, under the lead of Laura Rexroth, the band was down to 30 members. This was deemed insufficient to run a real marching band, and so it was disbanded.
As was to be expected, however, the reign that the Athletics Department had over the Pep Band was tulmultuous at best. The Athletic Department hired their own director, and practices were held in William and Mary Hall. There was also a misunderstanding amidst the Athletic Department of the reasons people joined the Pep Band. The situation became so dire that, during the basketball season, only 8 Pep Band members would show up for games.
However, there was planning afoot. Under the leadership of Jason Maga, the Pep Band sat down with Athletics, the Student Government, and the Administration to work out a new direction for the Pep Band. With the full support of Athletics, the Administration, and the Student Government, the Pep Band started a flyering and mailing drive across Campus and to all incoming freshmen. In the Fall of 1999, the Pep Band was reformed as totally student-run organization, under the Directorship of Jason Maga. From there, we have soared into the bright sky of freedom, justice, and the peptastic way.
However, the Pep Band had bigger things in store for itself. No longer content with playing in the stands alone, but not desiring the complications and stereotypes of a normal marching band, the William and Mary Pep Band sought to join a sacred brotherhood: The Brotherhood of the Scramble Band. So in the Spring of 2006 (really, the winter, but that's what the semester is called), a core group of individuals started planning this new chapter of history. It came to fruition in the Fall of 2006, November 18 to be precise, with the first field show by a William and Mary band in 11 years.
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...
of the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
. It is a student-run ensemble that performs at home football games in the fall sports season and basketball games in the winter sports season. Membership is open to anyone currently enrolled at the college.
Before 1995
The early history of the William and Mary Marching Band is lost in time and space. Throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, there were various efforts to organize a marching band, each of which lasted for a few years at the most, and then collapsed. It wasn't until the early 1950s, with the coming of Charles R. Varner, that a marching band at William and Mary came to be.Mr. Varner came to the College in the fall of 1953, as the new director of bands, and immediately started a reorganization of the way that the marching band was conceived. Now that it had a stable leader, the band began to flourish. In the '50s, '60s, and '70s, the Summer Band program provided an opportunity for high schoolers around the state an opportunity to get better at their instruments and better at marching. The fact that it was staffed by members of the William and Mary Marching band shows their dedication.
However, when Chuck Varner left the College, the band began to hit troubled times. Diagnosed with cancer in the early 1980s, Varner was forced to retire after 33 years of service. A scholarship in his name was established at William and Mary in 1989 and is awarded to an outstanding band student. Varner eventually passed away in January, 2002, after suffering from Alzheimer's.
The directors after Varner did not have the same dedication to the marching band that he did; by the mid 90s, under the lead of Laura Rexroth, the band was down to 30 members. This was deemed insufficient to run a real marching band, and so it was disbanded.
1996–present
After the fall of 1995, in which the Marching Band had only 30 members, it disbanded, due to lack of interest in both the music faculty and the students. In the fall of 1996, the history of the William and Mary Pep Band began. It began as a similar institution to the Marching Band, in that it was a one credit class run by a Professor of Music. However, there were differing opinions between the Professor and the Band members on how it should be run, and in the fall of 1998, the Athletics department took over the management of the Pep Band.As was to be expected, however, the reign that the Athletics Department had over the Pep Band was tulmultuous at best. The Athletic Department hired their own director, and practices were held in William and Mary Hall. There was also a misunderstanding amidst the Athletic Department of the reasons people joined the Pep Band. The situation became so dire that, during the basketball season, only 8 Pep Band members would show up for games.
However, there was planning afoot. Under the leadership of Jason Maga, the Pep Band sat down with Athletics, the Student Government, and the Administration to work out a new direction for the Pep Band. With the full support of Athletics, the Administration, and the Student Government, the Pep Band started a flyering and mailing drive across Campus and to all incoming freshmen. In the Fall of 1999, the Pep Band was reformed as totally student-run organization, under the Directorship of Jason Maga. From there, we have soared into the bright sky of freedom, justice, and the peptastic way.
However, the Pep Band had bigger things in store for itself. No longer content with playing in the stands alone, but not desiring the complications and stereotypes of a normal marching band, the William and Mary Pep Band sought to join a sacred brotherhood: The Brotherhood of the Scramble Band. So in the Spring of 2006 (really, the winter, but that's what the semester is called), a core group of individuals started planning this new chapter of history. It came to fruition in the Fall of 2006, November 18 to be precise, with the first field show by a William and Mary band in 11 years.
Former directors
| Year | Name | Year | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Jason Maga | 2000 | Doug Bunch |
| 2001 | Doug Bunch | 2002 | Carrilynn Greenwood |
| 2003 | Diana West | 2004 | Rebecca Nelson |
| 2005 | Andy Kramer | 2006 | Alex Mills |
| 2007 | Kenny Barry | 2008 | Dustin Glasner |
| 2009 | Christina Millson | 2010 | Christina Millson |