The University of Michigan Marching Band

From its beginnings as a grassroots student effort in the fall of 1896, the University of Michigan Marching Band (MMB) has grown into one of the greatest college traditions in the United States. The MMB is a cherished part of athletic events at the University of Michigan, thrilling millions of spectators each week with its spirited performances of "The Victors." Through cutting-edge technologies, innovative halftime show concepts, and a bold willingness to take risks, the MMB continues to make headlines and set trends in the world of collegiate marching bands.

The Michigan Marching Band is composed of students from all colleges and all three campuses of the University of Michigan. Since its humble beginnings with 22 members in 1896, the MMB has grown to an average of 400 members annually. Its alumni, now numbering in the tens of thousands, are spread across the globe.

The MMB's halftime shows have featured incredible collaborations with world-renowned artists and organizations, including Beyoncé, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and NASA. These performances often highlight the talents and initiatives of the University of Michigan, such as contributions from the SMTD Musical Theatre department, the U-M Spectrum Center, the U-M Ginsberg Center, and many more.

For more information, visit michiganmarchingband.com.

Participated: 2025
Country: USA

Universityof Michigan Marching Band 2

Universityof Michigan Marching Band John Pasquale

Conductor: Dr. John Pasquale

An international conductor, author and lecturer, Dr. John D. Pasquale is the Donald R. Shepherd Professor of Conducting at the University of Michigan where he serves as Director of the Michigan Marching and Athletic Bands. In this position he directs and oversees the athletic band program, is the conductor of the University Band, guest conductor with the Symphony Band, Concert Band, and teaches classes in rehearsal and ensemble pedagogy. In addition, Dr. Pasquale is a faculty associate within the African Studies Center in the International Institute of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and is the Chief Marshal to the university. Outside of the university, he is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician.

Prof. Pasquale's research interests span the intersection of the conductor as an artistic leader and ensemble pedagogue, the codification of instrument and ensemble pedagogy, and the teaching of aural analysis skills to conductors. His scholarship, culminating in the publication of "Probenmethodik Blasorchester: Geführtes Hören in der Ensemblearbeit," is published by Helbling Verlag in Esslingen, Germany, and has been further disseminated globally through its English edition, "The Directed Listening Model: A Rehearsal Guide for Ensemble Musicianship."
Currently, Prof. Pasquale is a primary lecturer in a multi-year wind band pedagogy residency in Africa in conjunction with the University of Cape Coast in Cape Coast, Ghana. This project involves working with over 700 university, amateur and professional conductors and musicians from universities, national defense ensembles, government ensembles, primary schools, church and community ensembles in thirteen African, Middle Eastern and European countries.

An ardent advocate for international education, Dr. Pasquale previously held an affiliate lectureship within the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In this capacity, he taught study abroad classes in Austria titled "Art and Music in Vienna." In 2012, Dr. Pasquale led a cross-cultural performance and pedagogy project in China titled "Instrumental Music Education in China: Cross-Cultural Performance and Pedagogy," leading a team of American conductors and researchers in fostering international musical collaboration and understanding.

Receiving the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the University of Oklahoma in 2008, Dr. Pasquale served as a conducting associate to the Wind Symphony, Opera Orchestra, “The Pride of Oklahoma” Marching Band, New Century Ensemble, Faculty Composer Concert Series, Symphony Band, Concert Band, and the Weitzenhoffer Family Department of Musical Theatre. In addition, he was an adjunct instructor and graduate teaching assistant within the Music Education Department. He holds a Master of Music degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Texas Christian University.

In the genre of marching and pageantry arts, Dr. Pasquale served as an ensemble music consultant with the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps from Boston, Massachusetts, the Associate Brass Caption Manager of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps from Santa Clara, California, and taught ensemble music with the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from Rosemont, Illinois. Through his teaching at the Cavaliers, Pasquale was a contributor to the instructional DVD entitled, The Cavaliers Brass: From the Concert Hall to the Football Field, which has been met with international acclaim. During his tenure from 2002-2009, the Cavaliers were named Drum Corps International World Champions three times and were the recipient of two Jim Ott Awards for “Excellence in Brass Performance.”

Dr. Pasquale is in demand as a conductor, clinician, lecturer, pedagogue, and adjudicator in band and orchestra programs throughout North America, Africa, Europe and Asia.

Universityof Michigan Marching Band Richard Frey1

Conductor: Dr. Richard Frey

Dr. Richard Frey is a member of the conducting faculty at the University of Michigan, and the associate director of bands. He is the associate director of the Michigan Marching and Athletic Bands, director of the Men’s Basketball Band, conductor of the Campus Bands, and guest conductor of the Symphony Band Chamber Winds. He teaches conducting and coordinates the non-major chamber music program.

Frey was previously the associate director of Bands at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. While he was there the CSU Marching Band expanded its national and international reputation, performing at the St. Patrick’s Festival Parade in Dublin, for Denver Broncos halftimes, and at bowl games around the country. In 2015, CSU hosted the

College Band Directors National Association’s Athletic Band Symposium, the first non-Power Five conference school to do so.
Frey’s research has centered on opera transcriptions for winds in the eighteenth century, specifically Johann Went’s transcription of Le nozze di Figaro. He has given presentations on this work at universities around the country and at the 2016 CBDNA Southwest Division conference. In July 2014, Frey led the Colorado State Faculty Chamber Winds on a performance tour of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary that included his performance edition of Figaro and a new edition of the introduction to Rossini’s Zelmira. His modern harmonie performance edition (Sedlak) of the overture to Semiramide was premiered by the Gateway Chamber Orchestra at the 2015 CBDNA National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

As a conductor, Frey has led world and consortium premieres by composers Steven Bryant, Eric Nathan, David Maslanka, James David, and Matthew Peterson, and his concerts often feature multimedia and interdepartmental collaborations. He has presented on expressive conducting and Laban terminology, wind band repertoire, and modern performance practice at state and national conferences, and as a guest lecturer for undergraduate and graduate classes at universities nationwide.

He has performed as a freelance percussionist with the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theater, Tacoma Symphony, and Bellevue Philharmonic, and in recitals as a collaborative pianist and accompanist. As a music arranger and drill designer for marching and athletic bands, Frey has been regularly commissioned by university and high school ensembles, resulting in performances of nearly 100 of his musical arrangements.

In 2011 Dr. Frey received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting at Michigan State University. In 2008 he received a Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. From 2002-06 he taught instrumental music in the public schools of Salem, Oregon. Frey received a Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Puget Sound in 2002.

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