January 2023

Question:

Dear Abbot Pennings,

Has SNC ever had a marching band?

Debbie Johnson (Campus Card Services)


Answer:

My dearest Debbie,

Your query evokes melodic memories of St. Norbert College’s most distinguished musical history. For much of that time, our instrumental music program has traditionally featured formal ensembles that performed in concert halls such as our own Walter Theatre. While those groups have represented St. Norbert well throughout Wisconsin and across the world, many years have elapsed since the last time a college-organized marching band stepped forth into the community.

Even in the earliest years of St. Norbert College, music performance was an integral part of the student experience. The very first college catalog in 1902-03 specified that all students would receive instruction in vocal music free of charge; students who wished to learn instrumental music could pay for lessons on piano, organ, mandolin or violin. A college orchestra included both wind and string instruments, and a college band was open to all students and rehearsed daily during recreation hours. Iconic photographs from the 1900s and 1910s show the “St. Norbert’s College Band” – we were called St. Norbert’s College in those early years – ranging from 15 to 25 musicians strong, arrayed with instruments in front of Main Hall. My Norbertine confreres conducted and performed in these early ensembles. Men of many talents, indeed!

The band’s primary purpose was to provide the college’s ROTC unit with musical accompaniment for daily activities, as described in that first catalog: “It is present at all drills to aid our future soldiers in performing the various maneuvers in a snappy way.” What a picture that paints, I must say! The band also performed for community occasions, as highlighted in the 1918 Des Peres yearbook: “On De Pere Loyalty Day, May 20, the band members turned out, clad in their new uniforms, and led the St. Norbert’s contingent in the largest and most splendid procession ever held in the city.” More traditionally, the band marched in annual Homecoming parades and performed halftime shows during football games at Minahan Stadium.

The golden era of marching bands at St. Norbert gradually ended due to a variety of factors, including the establishment of formalized majors in music and music education, and the end of compulsory military training in the late 1960s. However, during SNC Day this past September, our campus was again graced with marching musicians, as students from West De Pere High School added a festive accompaniment to a glorious day of celebration. Perhaps they brought happy memories to alumni of a certain age, as they did for yours truly!

Responses to “Ask the Abbot” questions are penned by St. Norbert College staff in the name of Abbot Bernard Pennings, who founded St. Norbert College in 1898.