The UMass Band Alumni Network is proud to announce its charter membership in the newly formed National Association of Alumni Bands (NAoAB).
Following the vision of Geof Sloan, president of the University of Texas Longhorn Alumni Band, the NAoAB’s conception was announced at the inaugural National Alumni Athletic Band Symposium in 2018. At the 2019 symposium — both events were held in conjunction with the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Athletic Band Symposium — attendees voted to create the National Association of Alumni Bands.
The National Association of Alumni Bands is the flagship association focused on providing leadership and assistance to alumni band organizations.
“Just look at the names on the list,” says UMass Band Alumni Network chair Keith Paul ‘98. “As an alumni group, we’ve long looked to alumni bands at Ohio State and UT Austin as examples of alumni leaders really making a difference for their university bands.”
“And to think of the connections within these groups. UMass has a long connection to Michigan, from arrangements and original music from Jerry Bilik and Michigan alumni (retired UMass band director John Jenkins and the late UMass trumpet professor Walter Chesnut) who helped define what the UMMB is today. And we’ll never forget the Minuteman Band’s 2010 trip to Ann Arbor and the untimely passing of longtime band director George Parks.”
UMass Drumline alum Nick Angelis is at Cincinnati while UMass band director Timothy Todd Anderson is an alumnus of two of these programs (Florida and Illinois).
“The success of the Minuteman Marching Band is nothing new. Our band’s excellence has come from multiple generations of band members, who worked hard to establish the standard, maintain it, and provide the example of each generation to follow,” says Timothy Todd Anderson, director of the Minuteman Marching Band. “It’s no surprise our Band Alumni Network is a charter member of the National Association of Alumni Bands. Even as alumni, the members of the Power and Class of New England continue to be leaders.”
The NAoAB seeks to serve its members and all collegiate alumni band organizations through mentoring and networking to assist alumni bands with bylaws, capital campaigns, raising scholarships, attracting recent graduates, planning for the unexpected, planning a reunion, recruiting leadership, finding reliable vendors, and more.
Representatives of the 24 Charter Member organizations have a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with existing and potential alumni band organizations. Charter member alumni bands include: Baylor, Cal, Cincinnati, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Georgia State, Illinois, Iowa State, LSU, UMass, McNeese State, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Pitt, Sam Houston State, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas, Truman State, Washington, WVU, and Wisconsin.
Established in 1966 as the University of Massachusetts Band Alumni Association, the association partnered with the UMass Amherst Alumni Association in 2017 and changed its name to ‘UMass Band Alumni Network,’ joining the Association’s affinity network program. There are nearly 5,000 alumni of the Minuteman Band living across the globe.