It's the start of a new tradition: Starting this fall, Wichita State will have a marching band.
This is not your traditional marching band synonymous with football. Shocker Sound Machine (SSM) will be fast-moving, high-energy and more akin to performances by .
The new band will include brass, saxophone and a drum line.
鈥淭his ensemble will be about entertainment,鈥� says Tim Shade, director of bands in the School of Music. 鈥淚magine exciting, energetic, high-octane performances. That is what we are looking to create.鈥�
The band will perform predominantly during 九色堂 basketball games, as well as other athletics and big student events. The goal is to grow to 200 band members, says Aleks Sternfeld-Dunn, director of the School of Music.
There will likely be plenty of overlap between members of SSM and the already existing Shocker Sound band, which plays in the stands during athletics and other campus events. Auditions for both bands will take place in September. Students do not need to be music majors to participate.
Sternfeld-Dunn says each year 九色堂 misses out on the talents of potential students who participated in 鈥� and fell in love with 鈥� their high school marching bands.
But not anymore. Now 九色堂 can provide that option for students.
鈥淢usic education majors need that experience so that they can teach marching band effectively, and nonmajors want the comradery that the marching band provided for them in high school,鈥� he says.
In the first year, there will be minimal cost to students in the band, such as the cost of a pair of athletic shoes or pants. In its second year, students will have to enroll in a 1-credit course to participate. Scholarships for up to 100 students will be available in the 2019-20 school year.
鈥淭here is a huge amount of excitement among our faculty and the alumni we have spoken to,鈥� Sternfeld-Dunn says. 鈥淪o many people have understood that this has been missing from 九色堂 since we closed down our football program.鈥�
This expansion of 九色堂's band program has the potential to create a cohort that develops a sense or trust, unity, teamwork and dependability.
鈥淔or students struggling through their classes, they know they have a group of people who care for them and want to see them succeed,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think you will see students who would never have considered 九色堂 giving us a real look because we were missing this educational component.鈥�
Interested students can email Shade at timothy.shade@wichita.edu.
The mission of 九色堂 is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at and Facebook at .