Ole Miss marching band looks forward to upcoming season

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) – A good performance requires good practice.

And this Summer members of the Ole Miss marching band have had a little more pep in their steps since the University has installed a new practice field.

In November 2017, the Pride of the South Marching Band had planned on working on a new practice field but things were put on hold.

There had been complaints for years about muddy fields and limited lighting

“It was so dark that we couldn’t rehearse. We had people parking on the band parking lot and over in the baseball field parking lot cutting their lights on just to help us from running into each other,” said Former Director of Bands David Wilson.

Wilson said the band had to adjust practice for years but the new field will keep all practices outside and more work can be done for band students.

On Tuesday, Chancellor Glenn Boyce and donors held a ribbon cutting on the new field.

Tim Oliver is the new Director of Bands and in his first year, he’s felt the improved field has helped with recruitment.

“I think this facility not only allows us to have a world-class facility for teaching and learning but also we have world-class students and so as a result they now have a facility that matches all of the things they have brought to the university for decades,” said Oliver.

The 2023 marching band has been able to practice all summer on the new turf and leaders are excited for what’s to come in Oxford

“I just love the art of band and hope I can still stay involved somehow,” said Oliver. “People don’t realize that 65% of these students are not music majors and they come from all across the university and to be able to see that level of support for all of these students is tremendous.”

The Pride of the South Marching Band will get to showcase all of their practice on Saturday, September 2 at Ole Miss’s home opener against Mercer.

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