Strike Up the Band!
Strike Up the Band!
On Thanksgiving Day, the 330-member Marching Scarlet Knights (MSK) will march in the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The MSK includes 44 School of Engineering students, who play a range of instruments including drums, trumpets, saxophones, tubas, trombones, as well as a clarinet, piccolo, and mellophone.
“We are absolutely thrilled and beyond excited for this opportunity,” declares Todd Nichols, the Rutgers University director of university bands and president of the Big Ten Band Director’s Association. “This is the first time ever for the RU MSK to march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s truly a bucket list, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Senior Jonathan Giglia enthuses, “I’m beyond excited for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for a lot of reasons, but most of all for being immortalized in Rutgers history. This will be the largest performance of my marching career, and it’s something I’ll be able to show friends and family for the rest of my life.”
Bringing Energy to Game Days
This is Giglia’s third year as a snare drummer in the MSK. “I joined my sophomore year for the first season following COVID,” he recalls. While not every student in the MSK brings prior experience to the band, Giglia has been drumming for school bands since fourth grade and marched for four years and was the drumline captain at the Middletown High School North, in Middletown, New Jersey.
Inspired by music, he reports that his first gameday experience as a middle school student at his high school’s Band Day was pivotal. “I absolutely fell in love with the atmosphere and energy around it – and I’ve brought that energy and excitement with me to every game day since.”
He has especially appreciated the MSK’s performance opportunities. “I’ve previously traveled to Lucas Oil Stadium with the MSK to perform for the Bands of America Grand Nationals, as well as other college stadiums to support the Rutgers football team,” he says.
A Home Away from Home
Senior Jason Peake has been playing snare drum for about seven years, including for four years at Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Like Giglia, he joined the MSK in his sophomore year. “Music is a crucial part of my life, it follows me everywhere I go, be it the music that surrounds me in stores, or whatever may be blasting in my headphones at any given time,” he says.
“What I most enjoy about being in the band is doing what I love with so many awesome people. Band has always given me a home away from home, and my fellow members have become a second family,” Peake says.
He is especially looking forward to performing live before Macy’s Parade spectators, as well as for the enormous TV audience after months of practice. “Not only will a great time be spent with my friends, but it will also be a high point for the band and also in my musical career,” he predicts.
While Giglia is one of six biomedical engineers marching in the band, Peake is one of seven MSK electrical and computer engineers. SoE is also represented by majors from the Departments of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Materials Science Engineering.
Keeping in Step with Classwork and Band
Both Peake and Giglia recognize the challenges of balancing engineering and music. “One of the defining aspects of college, especially in engineering, is time allocation and flexibility,” says Giglia. “Balancing the MSK with SoE coursework is achievable with the time students have, but absolutely requires scheduling our days in advance and being prepared to adapt when circumstances disrupt those plans.”
Peake sees the challenge as one of balancing the demands of being a full-time engineering student and full-time musician. “However, it’s said that anything worth having in life is challenging. The rewards I get from both these worlds have been well worth the challenge. My time with this band has been a precious moment in my life.”
Join the Band
For Nichols, recruiting members from across the university for the MSK is an ongoing full year project According to him, the SoE students make up a great percentage – about 12.6% -- of current band members.
While typically, there are more underclassmen in the band than upperclassmen, he said he is “hopeful that with things like the Macy’s parade, potential bowl games, and other events and travel that many students will continue with the MSK for all four years.”
At present, Nichols notes that the band is working on shows for an upcoming game against Ohio State and for a huge regional high school marching band festival that Rutgers is hosting – and which it will perform for in exhibition.
As far as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade goes, he can’t announce the repertoire, due to NBC production and copyright/licensing rules. “You’ll have to tune in on Thanksgiving to find out," he says.
