Strike Up the Band

With a wave of his hand and a quick countdown, Dr. Brad McDavid strikes up the Seattle University Pep Band.  

Instantly, the drumkit and sousaphone start rumbling—sounds you can feel in your chest—just as the cymbals crash and the brass and woodwinds charge. Like electricity energizing a light bulb, music fills the cavernous weight room inside Eisiminger Fitness Center.  

Just as quickly, with another wave, Dr. McDavid silences the band and gives a few directives. 

“Again,” says Dr. McDavid, the band’s first director, and 1-2-3 once more the roof is raised in a shock wave of oompah, striking up in perfect unison just as though it were raising a crowd to cheer on the Redhawks. 

This early rehearsal in December marked the promising beginnings for the university’s pep band. It is a vision of President Eduardo Peñalver and Vice President of Athletics Shaney Fink to resurrect the pomp and excitement of a band, lending a score to sporting events and stirring school spirit across campus. 

Vice President Fink praises Dr. McDavid’s experience and passion, saying the university is looking forward to the school spirit he is bringing to campus. 

“This is an exciting moment for Seattle University as we expand the student experience and create a lasting tradition that will enhance the atmosphere at our games and events for years to come,” she says. 

Before taking on the task of creating a pep band here, Dr. McDavid spent 30 years directing the 240-member University of Washington Husky Marching Band. Not long after retiring, following the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year, President Peñalver and Fink approached him, wanting to pick his brain about the process to start a pep band at SU. 

This particular kind of school band, sometimes known as an athletic band, is a smaller, more mobile version of a marching band, but does the same work of rousing a crowd. 

Little did Dr. McDavid know that he had walked himself into a job interview. 

“I gave them all the particulars about how to organize a band program,” Dr. McDavid recalls. “They were like, ‘Great, can we talk you into conducting it?’” 

Though happily retired, and thinking that wouldn’t change, the opportunity Seattle University presented to him was too intriguing to pass up—though he did first seek the counsel, and approval, of his wife before accepting. 

“The idea of being able to start a new tradition for Seattle University and make it a lasting tradition is something I was intrigued about,” Dr. McDavid says. 

“This is an exciting moment for Seattle University as we expand the student experience and create a lasting tradition that will enhance the atmosphere at our games and events for years to come.”
—Shaney Fink, VP, Athletics

In its inaugural year, the pep band stands at 30 members—about the size of a large jazz ensemble—and is focused on performing at women’s and men’s basketball. This year the band is dividing its attention, playing half of the home games for each team. 

“With no band program on campus, we had to start with a realistic number,” says McDavid. “I was shooting for between 24 and 30 (members) and thankfully we were able to land at that for the first year.” 

That number is partly determined by NCAA restrictions on the size of bands attending post-season tournaments, including the pep band’s recent trip to Las Vegas to support the Redhawks at the Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament. 

Ideally, McDavid would like to have twice that number, effectively two bands of 30 members. This would make it so that one group isn’t obligated to play every home game, setting up a schedule crunch for students trying to balance the rigors of their studies with their passion for music. 

For those interested in joining the band, Seattle University Athletics has an online questionnaire to start the application process. Though musical ability is required to join, owning an instrument is not. Half of the 10 instruments that make up the band can be borrowed from SU and not just the elephantine sousaphone but also the diminutive piccolo. 

As for the music, shortly after the band assembled, they learned a songbook of about 20 tunes, with roughly a dozen of them game-ready at the start of the basketball season including Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” and “Tank!” from the anime television series Cowboy Bebop—with more songs to come. 

Scott Sunseri, a student in the Master of Arts in Couples and Family Therapy program and originally from San Jose, California, has been playing trombone since he was 9 years old, which at the time took quite a bit of effort. He played in the Gonzaga University Pep Band during his undergrad years and heard from his sister, who had marched in Dr. McDavid’s band at Washington, that a new pep band was forming at SU. He jumped at the chance.  

“I was really missing being in a musical setting and having that community space with other people who love playing music as much as I do,” he says. “I couldn't believe that there was finally going to be another pep band opportunity.”