After briefly wrestling with the sound systems, President Mark Foster rang the opening bell and asked Tom Strode to lead off. Tom chose The Star Spangled Banner. Vic Stoeffler’s Inspiration acknowledged the stresses and struggles of our time but pointed out attention to all the good things that remain. Don Duquette previewed our speaker by leading us in 76 Trombones. Kate VanHorn announced birthdays and anniversaries. President Mark asked all the 
guests to rise to be greeted as there were too many for individual introductions.
John Sepp brought information from the Membership Committee about the bowling team. We will induct new members next week. Everyone is invited to the Session Room at 5:30 next week to celebrate the new Rotarians.
Nishta Bhatia described the agenda of the Second Annual A2 Climate Teach-In, which will be Saturday, March 10, 2024. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell will be the keynote speaker and the program includes lectures and Break Out Sessions. Attendees will receive a Climate Action Toolkit which will introduce seventeen “tools” that can be used individually or in concert with others. The event is free and includes refreshments. Contact Nishta for more information and to sign up.
President Mark apologized for running out of lunch. He asked people to be sure to respond to the weekly inquiry about whether they will attend, if they will bring a guest, and if they will eat lunch. This information is important for setting up tables and ordering enough food.
Notes from the Program
David Leach introduced our speaker, John Pasquale, Donald R. Shepherd Clinical Professor of Conducting; Director of Michigan Marching and Athletic Bands; Associate Director of Bands; Faculty Associate, African Studies Center, LSA International Institute; and Chief Marshal to the University.
John delivered an action-packed program that demonstrated the energy and discipline required of a Michigan Band member. The band has been a big part of the Michigan experience for 176 years. John showed us how they put together a ‘picture’ with 276 moving members, all moving and playing an instrument as they move across the field. The musical selections are chosen to appeal to the many audiences at a game or event. Of the almost 400 band members, 235 are chosen for the opening of football games and the first rounds of The Victors and Varsity, then 276 are chosen for the halftime performance. The performers are selected each week by audition and the demands for perfection in musicality and marching are steep.
John emphasized the teaching aspect of the program, perfecting the playing but also teaching the life skills of discipline, hard work, and erasing feeling entitled. Only half the band members are in LSA; 36% come from the engineering schools and 7% come from the School of Music, Theater and Dance. Many band members are involved with a wide range of other community organizations as volunteers.
John talked about the support the program gets from Michigan, alumni, and an endowment, but mostly from the fan base. His favorite time of year is Homecoming with its Alumni Band, and he looks forward to seeing the same alumni year after year. He enjoys the several families that pass band membership from one generation to the next.
John closed his presentation by asking us to sing The Victors. Not pleased, he had us sing it again, this time carefully pronouncing ‘victOrs’ correctly. We won’t make that mistake again!
For anyone who missed this interesting and engaging meeting, you can watch the recording on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/
Passcode: q#C6W#
The presentation starts at about 22:30.
The program next week will be Marianne Udow Phillips, founding executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) at the University of Michigan, speaking on Rethinking Public Health. President Mark closed the meeting leading us in recitation of the Four Way Test.
In the photo above, Downs Herold, Chair of our recently reactivated History & Archives Committee, presents a vintage record album to our speaker. It contains recordings of various college fight songs performed by the Michigan Marching Band under the direction of the late Bill Revelli, a revered member of our club.
