Spirit of Gold Marching Band
| Spirit of Gold Marching Band | |
|---|---|
 | |
| School | Vanderbilt University |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee, USA |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Director | Rob Bryant |
| Members | 156 (approx.) |
| Fight song | "Dynamite" |
| Uniform | New: Mostly black jacket with large Star V, black band, black shoes, black gloves, white hat and white plume Old: White jacket with gold and black rim, gold sash with black trim, reversible gold and black cape, black pants, black shoes, black gloves, black and white ball cap. |
The Spirit of Gold Marching Band is the collegiate marching band organized by Vanderbilt University.
Membership
A unique feature of the Spirit of Gold is that membership in the marching band is open to all students enrolled at Vanderbilt or any students from colleges in the Nashville area. This includes Belmont, Lipscomb, Fisk, Trevecca, and Nashville State.[1]
Performances
Football
The band forms the core of the student section at intercollegiate football games hosted by Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt Stadium and performs at all Vanderbilt Commodores home football games, as well as a select number of away games.
The Spirit of Gold works with the Office of the Dean of Students to coordinate the band's performances at football games. The band has developed many traditions that help add to the exciting atmosphere of Southeastern Conference football on game day. For example, the band leads a parade through campus before games and provides music for pre-game and in-game spirit. The band plays the university's fight song, "Dynamite", throughout the game as well.
The Spirit of Gold prepares a unique halftime show for every home game, performing from variety of musical genres and eras. Recent performances have featured music from Lady Gaga, The Blues Brothers, Tower of Power, the Backstreet Boys, and Bon Jovi. The last halftime performance of the year is traditionally a completely student-run, student-organized show.
Basketball
During the spring semester, a 50-piece pep band is formed for performances at Vanderbilt's men's and women's basketball games played in Memorial Gym.[2] The basketball band performs music similar to that which the football band performs.
Tau Beta Sigma
The Eta Phi chapter of Tau Beta Sigma serves the Spirit of Gold. The co-ed chapter has a history of being one of the largest chapters in the nation and is the most recent recipient of the Grace and A. Frank Martin Chapter Leadership Award, a biennial award that honors the outstanding chapter in the nation.[3] All members of the Spirit of Gold, regardless of university, are able to seek membership in Eta Phi.