Newly-Formed Tiger Pep Band Debut

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Photo courtesy of Tiger Pep Band instagram page.

The newly-formed Tiger Pep band had their football debut on November 6.

The DePauw School of Music is proud to announce the creation of a new Tiger Pep band that made its first and only performance at the football game on November 6, 2021. 

There have been efforts to bring back the band since late 2019, and the band was finally able to in September of this year. Since then, they have put together a “very strong student leadership team,” George Palton, the associate director of music admissions, said. 

Although the band was formed recently, its roots date back to the 1980s. The Tiger Pep band found its origins in the DePauw marching band that evolved into the pep band in the ‘80s, Palton added. The Tiger Pep band is currently at around 30 members and is still looking for new players. 

They closed registration on October 25. There are no prerequisites to join the band aside from being able to play an instrument. They held their first rehearsal from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on November 4. 

Palton expressed how having a band background was very meaningful for him. “It is a good expressive outlet, it has a sense of campus comradery, school spirit, and a great ability to make lifelong friends.” 

The band played a variety of music genres at the football game pre-game, at halftime, and a little bit during the Nov 6 game as well. They played music ranging from the national anthem to school songs. According to Palton, the DePauw community can thank the enthusiasm of our current School of Music students who were “the real engine” that brought about this band. He also attributed the creation of the Tiger Pep band to some very generous alumni, the dean of the School of Music, the president of the university, and the faculty for their support. There is currently no intention to keep the band going past their performance on November 6.