Cadet Life:
The members of the band are called BQs and, since the band's inception, are part of the Corps of Cadets. All BQs are assigned to one of four units: A-Battery, B-Battery, A-Company, or B-Company. The band is a major unit within the Corps, comparable in size to a Brigade or a Wing. Due to its status as a Senior Military College all cadets are required to take ROTC classes at least their first two years, though follow-on military service is not required.
The Aggie Band is unique among college bands; no other band eats and lives together as a military unit, even at the Service Academies and military colleges. Bandsmen wear their cadet uniforms to class, drill, meetings, and other functions on campus. As a requested component of football away games, they perform at more football games than any other band. As of 1993, the band performed at 125 of the last 131 football games, including a streak of 42 straight from 1981 to 1984.
The Aggie Band performs a new show each week during the football season and does not generally repeat drills from week to week. During the fall semester, the Aggie Band practices one to three hours every weekday morning and on Saturdays every week with a football game. In addition, some components of the band also practice on Sunday afternoons and planning of the drills takes place throughout the fall semester. During weeks with complicated drills, extra practice and planning time is sometimes also done on weekday afternoons. All told, drills can take up to 40 hours per week on top of a full academic schedule and Corps/ROTC activities.
All seniors in the Corps of Cadets wear distinctive cavalry riding boots with their uniforms. These boots usually cost more than US$1,000 and are generally made at Victor's or Holick's, owned by the family of Joseph Holick, the first Band Director.
Leadership:
Unlike many bands, the drum majors are not in charge of the band as a whole. Since the band is part of the Corps, it has its own unit commander. The Band Commander, a Cadet Colonel, is in charge of the band. Due to necessity for military functions, the commander is accorded the privilege of the first file in the bugle rank (the front of the band), but during formal military ceremonies, the commander carries a sabre instead of a bugle, as do all other commanders. Underneath him are the unit commanders of A-Battery, B-Battery, A-Company, and B-Company; the Batteries are compose the Artillery Band and the Companies are called Infantry Band. The two bands perform together for halftime shows, but are often split for minor performances such as local parades. Furthermore, the band is comprised of three different ROTC programs and appoints commanders to manage and train the cadets within their respective ROTC affiliations.
On the field, the band is led by three drum majors and the twelve members of bugle rank. Each drum major carries a mace and directs the band based on its position and whistle commands during a drill. The head drum major is a Cadet Lieutenant Colonel, while the two side drum majors, the Infantry Side Drum Major and the Artillery Side Drum Major, are Cadet Majors. Bugle Rank consists of the Band Commander and eleven other senior cadets who are well-respected in the band and have impeccable marching abilities. Each Bugle rank member carries a bugle with a banner; most of the bugles are functional, but are never played during a performance. Together, the drum majors and bugle rank lead the band through the maneuvers on the field. In addition to their primary functions within the band, the bugles and maces also serve a military ceremonial function and are used to salute commissioned officers, much as a rifleman would salute with a rifle or a commander would salute with a sabre.
Composition:
The band has approximately 400 members with more than 80 trumpets and cornets, 70 trombones, 30 french horns, 30 baritones, 45 bass horns, 35 drummers, and 80 assorted woodwinds, though the actual composition varies annually. There are no flutes in the Aggie Band, as they are too large and would hinder the intricate marching maneuvers. Picolos are used instead. All members of the band must have high school marching experience, an audition during the Summer New Student Conferences to include major scales and sight reading, and an individual interview with the band director.
The new Texas Aggie Band Shows are now on the Association of Former Students website. www.aggienetwork.com
