About 100 Penn State University students, faculty, and alumni Blue Band members recently gathered in the Blue Band building on the Penn State campus at a luncheon to welcome Gregory Drane, the newly-appointed director of the band.
Drane, a native of Miami, Florida, earned bachelor’s degrees in music education and music performance (saxophone) at Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach.
Upon completion of a master’s degree in music education at Penn State, Drane joined the School of Music faculty as instructor and assistant director of athletic bands in 2005. Drane took on his new role as the Blue Band’s director on July 1 after the retirement of Dr. O. Richard Bundy on June 30.
During his tenure at Penn State, Drane has also served as the director of the Pride of the Lions basketball pep bands, and has worked extensively on drill design and arrangements for the Blue Band.
Drane is only the sixth director the band has had in its 116-year history. His appointment honors a tradition of the assistant directors moving up to the director’s position following the previous director’s retirement. “This provides a link to the past,” says Annemarie Mountz, Director of Communications in the College of Education at Penn State. “That’s why the band is what it is today.”
Drane plans to continue Dr. Bundy’s leadership style.
“I never saw Dr. Bundy as a strict disciplinarian,” says Drane. “I was always amazed at how he was able to maintain discipline without the authoritative type of leadership that we often associate with drill sergeants.” “The times have changed, and that type of leadership is not accepted in society any more, especially in our situation with a group of students who are volunteers,” he adds.
Drane noted a trend that many students who were in high school bands do not continue in college bands. “I can only equate that to the type of experience they’re receiving in those schools – those who had great experiences in high school are the ones that see the value of continuing to participate in bands,” he says. “As a result, we work very hard to make sure that our students are having a valuable, meaningful experience while here.”
Drane says that many people assume the majority of Blue Band members are music majors, but music majors make up only about 30 percent of the band. The rest come from the ranks of engineering and other non-musical majors. He notes that every band member must re-audition each year to remain in the band, and that the band loses roughly one-third of its 315 members every year due to graduation or scheduling conflicts. He praises band members for their ability to learn new halftime shows from start to finish in just four rehearsals per week.
Drane plans to enhance some areas of the band’s performances, but not make any major changes. “This program is entering its 116th year of existence, so there’s an established tradition that we want to maintain,” he says. “There are some areas where we can be more creative, and we are exploring those areas.”
“The flow of the show is the same for the past 50 years,” says Drane. “We’re not touching that — that’s our bread and butter.”
