Tau Beta Sigma- Eta Alpha

Two weeks ago was homecoming and it was so great to see everyone and to catch up! It was nice to see Eta Alpha Alumni and to see where their years away from Syracuse have taken them. Unfortunately, Syracuse didn’t pull off a win for homecoming weekend but with a big win over WVU and Cincinnati, I think we already forgot about the loss. It’s been extra great to be a part of the SUMB this year, mostly because our football team is doing way better than in years past and dare I say it, there is a lot of talk of us going to a bowl game! It’s hard not to get too excited about the thought of going to a bowl game seeing as we don’t know how the rest of the season will play out but I have hope and my fingers are crossed!

I really enjoy fall here in Syracuse, it’s my favorite season. The trumpet section went pumpkin picking and then we went back to my apartment to carve them, eat pizza, and watch the football game. Also, we have a football game the Saturday after Thanksgiving which means our Thanksgiving break gets cut short.  But I’m OK with this because the section decided to have a Trumpet Thanksgiving after the game. We’re all going to get dressed up and bring a dish to pass. It is going to be adorable and a lot of fun. I love being a trumpet player. Also, with this weekend being Halloween the SUMB decided to come to practice in costumes. There were some really creative and silly ones. It was nice to see everyone get into it and it made practice a little more fun.

Go, fight and win,

Shannon Long

TBΣ – HA – AΓ

Jungle themed costumes for Halloween

Yesterday the Syracuse Campus was buzzing with people the night after Halloween, from early Sunday morning until 11pm. These were not students. They were high school marching bands. October 31, 2010 was the day of the New York State Field Band Championships. High schools from different areas of New York State and even Pennsylvania came to compete for Championship title. Every year the Syracuse University Marching Band does an exhibition performance. This was our 24th year at the competition. We performed our “Swing Show”, which consisted of Sing, Sing, Sing, In the Mood, and Zoot Suit Riot (riot!). Then we did a one night only performance of the jazz classic, Caravan. It was so great to perform for other marching bands, because they truly appreciated what we were doing. It was amazing to see their faces light up during an impressive trumpet solo during Caravan. After the performance, we received a standing ovation. We don’t get too many of those at the usual football games. I’m already looking forward to the SUMB’s 25th performance, and my last. 

Jenna
TBΣ – HA – AΔ

Hello All!

My name is Megan Banks and I’m a senior at Syracuse University and this will be my 2^nd year as a sister in Eta Alpha. It seems like I just got here and now I’m participating in the typical senior stuff and trying not to get teary-eyed all the while. Also, this is my first year in a leadership position in the SU Marching Band and things have been pretty hectic since we’re preparing for a November filled with performances. I’m the section leader for the colorguard, and I truly love every minute of it. We’ve managed to double our numbers from last season as well as greatly increase our skill level and technique.

I’m also overjoyed in saying that there are quite a few colorguard people in our group of prospective new members. I have to say, there hasn’t been an overwhelming amount of sisters in the colorguard in the past two MC classes, largely in part due to our size (we were small but mighty!).Many colorguard members, myself included, don’t know how to play an instrument either. Along with the multitude of feelings that come with being a senior, I’ve decided to get involved in as many things as I can before I graduate. The most important of these decisions is taking up the mellophone for our basketball pep band, Sour Sitrus Society. Eta Alpha in particular has many gifted musicians that I’ve had the good fortune to see perform, and I feel like I’ll really gain a better understanding of my sisters when performing in an ensemble with them for the first time.

Megan B.

TBΣ – HA – AΔ

Hello Everyone!

This week has been pretty exciting! We didn’t have a home game so we had some time to relax this weekend. Because of this we had the opportunity to have another successful open recruitment event! We were able to learn more about the possible new members while we tie dyed shirts! Many sisters also participated in some fun fall activities. We took a trip to a near by town called Lafayette, and went to their apple festival. We bought many delicious apple treats while we took in the beauty of the near by countryside. We also went to Beak and Skiff farm to pick apples and purchase some more apple filled goodies!

Michele Mitchell

TBΣ – HA – AΔ

Hello readers,

I’m Elizabeth! I am a Junior at Syracuse University and this is my first year as a sister of Tau Beta Sigma! Being a sister has been wonderful so far and continually proves to be rewarding. This past weekend a group of us were able to join the Syracuse community for its Making Strides breast cancer walk downtown. It was a rush witnessing the united strength of the crowd we were part of and being able to contribute to their cause.

And that’s only the first adventure of this month! Right now we are fine-tuning our second SUMB halftime show, which we will be performing next weekend at homecoming. This week is also the beginning of the TBS recruitment period! It was great seeing a bunch of new faces interested in helping serve the bands, I can’t wait to watch them go through their process and learn more about our organization. Although knowing that there will soon be an Alpha Zeta class makes me feel old…!

Despite all of the events, midterms, and more rain to come, it’s great to be back in the swing of things of Syracuse.

-Elizabeth

TBΣ – HA – AE

Let me start off by saying that this is my first time stepping into the world of blogging. Look at me go.

I’m Philomena, a sophomore here at SU. Firstly, I am incredibly excited to be back. Coming back to marching band (particularly the trumpet section). Writing has never really been my thing so I chose to use mainly the pictures I’ve took from marching band to show what this year has consisted of.

Trumpet shako toss

Bass drumhead

SUMB Quad show on the steps of Hendricks Chapel

Included are many traditions that I’ve had the pleasure to partake in. There are memorable experiences here such as the shako toss. This is the trumpet’s designated warm-up spot. Before each game, every trumpet who so chooses has the chance to throw their shako in an attempt to land it on “Zeus’s” finger. If it lands, it predicts a win for the football team. We’ve had a couple successful attempts this season and we hope for more. Also, after each winning game the marching band makes it’s way over to Varsity to play inside and nom on free pizza afterwards. The space might be too small for the amount of decibels that are created by the band but it is certainly a fun time for all.

TBΣ – HA – AE

Hello! I’m Lelia, a sophomore here at Syracuse University. This will be my first full semester being a sister in Tau Beta Sigma, and so far I love it! I’ve always loved being a part of the SUMB, because I feel like being in the band has helped encourage me to be an active member of the student body. Also, joining the SUMB as a freshman last year really helped me transition to life in college – going to band camp enabled me to move onto campus earlier than everyone else, and spending two hours a night three times a week (not including game weekends!) helped me grow close with the other band members. Even though it’s barely October in my second year going through band season, I can already see the rookies becoming close friends with each other and other SUMB vets, which reminds me of what it was like last year.

Another reason why I love marching band so much is because without the SUMB, I would not have become a sister of Tau Beta Sigma. As odd as it may sound, becoming a part of TBS has made me more aware of life outside of band, and outside of Syracuse University. While walking with a few of the sisters at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event today, I realized how being a member of Tau Beta Sigma has greatly increased the amount of time I spend doing community service. I’ve discovered how much I love community service, and being a part of TBS makes service opportunities much more accessible to me.

In other news, the SU football team won’t be playing any home games for another two weeks. The time off from having Friday evening and Saturday morning rehearsals is great! Especially with midterms coming up soon, it’s nice to have some time off to keep up with studying for other classes. I’m definitely really excited for the upcoming halftime shows though! I can tell that with the amazing music we’re playing and the success of the football team so far, the 2010 SUMB season will be phenomenal! Go Orange!

-Lelia S.

TBΣ – HA – AE

When it comes to your senior year of college, there are a lot of firsts and a lot of lasts. There’s some “first lasts” as well. There’s your “first last game”, and in my case it was against Maine. As a person with only two semesters left, I find myself striving to do the things I’ve also done to the best of my ability, and I find myself also striving to do things I have never done before.

I’ve found myself signing up for as many service projects as possible. I find myself going to as many social events as possible. But also, I find myself working on having my own life outside of the sisterhood. I think if you talk to any sister, you will find that at some point, they have a hard time balancing their “regular” life from their “sister” life. But it took me all four years to really find out that they can be one in the same, and that I don’t have to sacrifice the things (or the people) I love for organization that I love as well. I can live a balanced life.

I always told myself in years past that I would participate in our steps that we do throughout the year. And while I know most of the steps, I never have been able to. But this is my year! I am finally participating! And I am so excited to finally do it!

I must say, it’s exciting to be cheering for a football team that has a winning record and I am excited to see where we go with the band. I loved the Earth, Wind, and Fire show, but I am by far most excited for our swing show and our decades show. I love me some Lady Gaga! While our football team may not win every game, as Mr. Mertz always says, the band is undefeated! GO ORANGE!

-Krystal

TBΣ – HA – AΓ

The past week has been awesome in the land of the SUMB!  Girls’ Night Out was a great success, and I got to meet some really cool people.  It was also my first adventure to Tully’s, and not to mention a fantastic stress reliever to help me finish out the week with a big smile!!  Saturday brought us a great first home game.  The second half brought us a fantastic win against the Maine Black Bears.  Not to be forgotten was the band picnic, which I thought turned out to be a very fun time.  The weather was looking kind of dreary while we were setting up, but soon enough the sun peeked through the clouds to reveal a gorgeous blue sky.  I think all of the rookies had good times and made some fond memories!  As far as the next few days go, they’ll be pretty busy from all of the family weekend activities, but I’m sure we can look forward to some really impressive concerts at Crouse and another super football game!

-Victoria

TBΣ – HA – AE