When a new friend encouraged me to sign up for Pep Band the third week of my first semester at Kenyon, I must admit I wasn’t thrilled. I had played alto saxophone in several ensembles throughout elementary, middle, and high school and was quite ready to take a break from the stressful environment cultivated by high expectations and intense daily practice. Although I had brought my instrument with me to college, I had often pondered leaving it at home, and had semi-planned on bringing it back with me during my next break. However, after lots of pleading, I was encouraged to join the newly founded Kenyon College Pep Band. I put my name and email down on the list, reminding myself that getting involved is important in college and I could easily drop the club if I needed to (this was a strong factor in why I consented to sign up).
After a few months went by without an initial practice, I started to believe that this newfound club would fall by the wayside and I would be relieved of my commitment. However, by late November, the group gathered for the first time. I reluctantly headed to Storer, anticipating the worst. Instead, I was greeted by a small group of students, almost entirely underclassmen, who expressed their desire to continue playing their instruments in college in a relaxed environment. As this was the main reason I joined the group, I found this encouraging.
During its initial year, Pep Band started out small, playing a limited range of pop songs and stand tunes. We maintained a consistent group of seven students and struggled to play pieces meant for much larger ensembles. But surprisingly, we managed to perform at a variety of sporting events and started making a name for ourselves. In trying to put ourselves out there, we jumped at every opportunity to play, including during visiting students weekends (as pictured above). Due to our small number, we fairly close throughout the year and I started to look forward to practices, viewing them as a convenient way to relax and hang out with friends (as well as procrastinate).
Fast forward to the beginning of this year: due to a litany of emails, Pep Band gained a multitude of new members. Currently, our numbers hover around thirty members, and we continue to grow. We gained both experienced and inexperienced musicians, some of them completely new to music, but all of whom add to the sound as a whole and allow us to increase our range of music and number of performances. Most importantly, the growth in size lead to an increased closeness throughout the band. We increased our practices from once to twice a week and began taking over an Old Side table and getting group meals after Sunday practice. The group started performing at more social events, including the fall Take Back the Jacket benefit.
Increasingly throughout the year, we have hosted gatherings, fundraisers, parties, and attended a multitude of events together. The band’s GroupMe became less about scheduling rehearsal and more about making jokes and sharing photos, which mostly consist of memes or embarrassing pictures of band members. Pep Band became a well-known and well-loved group on campus. This year especially marked the transition of Pep Band from a musical group to a friend group. I now consider Pep Band to be the community I feel the strongest connection to on campus, which is far cry from my original expectations.
Long story short: Pep Band is cool and you should totally join.
Image Credit: Kaylin Allshouse