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UH band ready for Super Bowl show

UH, TSU marching bands to perform in halftime production

By Lisa Street
Senior Staff Writer

Fueling the spirit of the team and keeping the crowd pumped is the mission of college marching bands nationwide. After motivating the Cougars and UH fans during a winning football season, the Cougar Marching Band will perform for the entire nation during the MTV-produced Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show on Sunday.

Influenced by the movie Drumline, MTV halftime show producers researched marching bands across the country and selected the Cougar band and TSU's Ocean of Soul Marching Band to open the halftime show.

"What we realized when we saw both the Ocean of Soul Marching Band and the marching Cougars was that, just in those two programs, it's a sort of microcosm of what I found in my research all over the country," MTV Supervising Producer Greg Choa said. "Initially, there was the idea of picking one, but I saw that both were representative of research, so I decided to do a composite of the bands from both schools."

Each band will select 180 members to take the field and play together for 30 seconds leading into Janet Jackson's performance of "All For You." Then, 30 percussionists from each band will perform a 30-second drum line while Jackson sings "Rhythm Nation."

This week, both bands are working hard to integrate their two distinctly different musical styles, which UH band director David Bertman said will be fruitful.

"It's time for people to see that there's a reason for us to have some connection," Bertman said. "We are distinctly different and have our own traditions and spirit, but (we) know that those can coexist wonderfully and work together for the common goal of music education."

Band members from UH and TSU said they're also psyched about the opportunity to work together at the Super Bowl.

"It's an honor to be part of a national event and to represent UH at that national event," said senior English major Elaine Lebeuf, who plays French horn in the Cougar Marching Band.

TSU drum major Will Taylor agreed.

"To be able to join with the University of Houston and to have this cohesive experience in something as majestic as the Super Bowl is a blessing from God," he said.

The UH band will perform in another Super Bowl-related event tonight at Reliant Park: Super Bowl XXXVIII -- A Salute to Houston, the opening ceremony for Super Bowl week, in which 38 Houston sports legends will be celebrated.

"The kids deserve this opportunity, and they will never forget it," Bertman said.
 

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