“With all the excitement around the football team this year, Coach Golesh, and all the players there’s a lot of hype around the team. Anything we can do to contribute.”
Those are the words of Fredrick Brown, this year’s head drum major for the Auburn University Marching Band.
Mellophone player Nicole Seale-Esposito had this to say about playing in front of a home crowd, “being an aspect of that game day in such a big part has been really cool. There’s really nothing like Jordan-Hare.”
Kiersten Prichard, a member of the flag-line, spoke about her favorite routine, “My favorite song to dance to is ‘Word Up.’ We have a good routine to it. It’s super fun to do and it’s a crowd favorite.”
The Auburn football team is preparing to open their home schedule tomorrow night inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. That means the Auburn family will get to see the marching band perform on Pat Dye field for the first time this season. Auburn Undercover sat down with those three members of the band to get an idea of what goes into their preparation each week.
Brown said, “We have a 3:30-4:15 class time. In that you have to learn the main show you are working on, working on music and drill for the next show. Then you’re working on four corners, spirit march, tiger walk. It’s a lot of planning.”
Pritchard said she first got interested in dancing at a young age and began doing it competitively at the age of three. Pritchard told Auburn Undercover about her transitioning from high school dance-line to flag-line.
“I got a little burned out. It was a lot. I had been dancing my whole life. Because I did color guard in high school I knew how to do it. I loved performing so I didn’t want to lose that.”
Seale-Esposito said she grew up immersed in Auburn culture. She told Auburn Undercover there were no other schools on her radar. She plays the mellophone and described exactly what that instrument is.
“Essentially it is like a bigger trumpet. It plays in the same key as a French Horn. It has a rounder, more mellow sound. It’s honestly such a fun instrument and easy.”
Brown is not new to being the head drum major. This is something he also did for his high school marching band. He talks about how directing a college band is different.
“Shifting my mindset to I’m just in front of my band and conducting music to I’m really apart of something and getting to be a really huge part of something bigger than myself and serving a greater good which is hype up the crowd and the team.”
Before the season began, head football coach Alex Golesh invited members of the band to teach incoming freshman and transfers various songs they play. The three members Auburn Undercover spoke with say they feel Golesh has brought something to the Plains that has been missing for quite some time.
Seale-Esposito said, “My parents own a business. He (Golesh) went inside to eat there and brought a ton of people into the restaurant. My whole family thinks he is just like the sweetest guy. He’s very kind to whoever he interacts with…When he first stepped off the plane the first thing he did was thank the band for playing for him”
The Auburn family can see the marching band take the field for pregame after the eagle flight and before the team runs out of the tunnel and on to the field. The halftime show will honor America turning 250 years old.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
