A PRECISION PREGAME On the field, at the north end zone, band assistant Dave Manela, wearing a headset, worries that the cloud cover might prevent the flyover, now less than 10 minutes away, by two jets racing toward Reser. These flyovers almost never come off on time, he says, and he would know — as a student at OSU, he played tenor sax in the band before graduating with a computer engineering degree. He’s another example of how the band attracts students from throughout the campus. Finally, at 5:47 p.m., the drumline takes the field, followed by the members of the marching band, drawing a big cheer from the crowd. New members — those not quite yet drilled in the marching routines — move to the west sideline and play along with the music. The video screen in Reser shows a view of the band as seen from the second deck of the stadium — if you’re seated too close to the ground, you don’t have a high-enough perch to make out whatever the band is spelling. After a few tunes, the band is ready to play “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but the timing isn’t quite right yet for the flyover. So Eric Leung, the director of bands at OSU and the conductor for the anthem, gets the signal: Stretch. The opening drum roll plays for an additional 15 or so seconds before Leung brings in the rest of the band. It’s 5:53 and six seconds. Eighty-four seconds later — just as the band reaches the “home of the brave” part of the song — two jets scream over the stadium. They’re right on time. And the rest of the pregame routine — complete with the Beaver spell-out — goes fine, despite earlier worries. After the show, band members dash for their assigned seats in the south end of the stadium. Preece applauds them as they clamber up the steps off the field, even as the opening kickoff, boomed high into the air, heads their way. “That was awesome,” Preece says. “Good job, everybody.” Band members won’t march again until halftime. But they still have hours of work ahead. THE GAME’S SOUNDTRACK With the game underway, band members scramble back to their seats to provide the musical soundtrack for the game — a soundtrack that can change at a moment’s notice, depending on what happens on the field. Hannum handles conducting duties during the game, using hand signals to cue the selections he wants played at certain points. The most frequent is the five-note snippet of music played every time the Beavers rack up a first down. (Another former OSU band director, Brad Townsend, wrote that piece.) On this night, as the Beavers collect 15 first downs, the tune — appropriately named “First Down” — rings out 15 times. But Hannum, who watches the video board as he directs to keep tabs on the game and to get a sense of what music might be appropriate, can call on any of 14 different selections — and has a hand signal to go with each one. “Generally, I try to follow the game script,” he says. “If we’re on offense and the team is right in front of us, I’ll hold off on playing to let them communicate. The opposite is true if it’s the opposing offense; I’ll try to play something disruptive.” It’s not all “Seven Nation Army” and “First Down,” though: A fan with an ear for classical music can pick up snippets from Holst’s “The Planets” and “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana. Whenever a player is injured on the field — Beaver or opponent — the band stops and members take a knee. HARD WORK AND HALFTIME MAGIC The first half zips by. At 7:24 p.m., less than 90 minutes after kickoff, they get the signal to assemble for the halftime show and start heading back down to the field. 5:54 p.m. 5:47 p.m. 5:47 p.m. The color guard takes the field, followed by the musicians. 5:54 p.m. Two jets fly over Reser Stadium. 7:35 p.m. The band performs the halftime show.
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