{{Short description|Official marching band of Yale University}} {{Multiple issues| {{COI|date=July 2019}} {{Tone|date=October 2024}} }} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox college marching band | name = Yale Precision Marching Band<br />''YPMB, The Band'' | image = Yale Precision Marching Band play Yale Bowl.jpg | caption = At Yale Bowl in 2019 | school = Yale University | location = New Haven, CT | conference = Ivy League | founded = 1917 <ref>{{cite book|title=The Yale Alumni Weekly|date=11 May 1917|page=9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cTM6AQAAMAAJ&q=yale+band+1917&pg=PA896|access-date=31 October 2016|archive-date=2 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302155520/https://books.google.com/books?id=cTM6AQAAMAAJ&q=yale+band+1917&pg=PA896|url-status=live}}</ref> | director = Thomas C. Duffy | members = 85 | fight song = ''Bulldog'', ''Down the Field'' | uniform = <!-- Navy blue Yale blazers, white collared button-up shirts, white pants, black shoes, decorative pins and accessories known as "schwee" --> | website = {{URL|http://www.yale.edu/yaleband/ypmb/|Yale Precision Marching Band}} }}
The '''Yale Precision Marching Band''' (affectionately known as the '''YPMB''', or more simply '''The Band''', for short) is the official marching band of Yale University. It is a scatter band (what some peers might call a "scramble band"), as distinct from university marching bands that emphasize precise movements and geometric field formations. Band members refer to themselves as "The Members Of...", which is derived from their introduction at Yale events.
==About The Band== thumb|right|Wearing chef hats Aside from Director Thomas C. Duffy and Business Manager Stephanie Theodos Hubbard, the band is largely student-run. * The Drum Major conducts the band during rehearsals and at games. The current Drum Major is Shell Ross, GH '26. * The Manager works closely with the Drum Major to organize performances and events on-and-off campus and ensure the well-being of the group. The current Manager is Kate Hall, ES '26. * The Student Arrangers (STUDs) head the Musicological Junta, the student team that arranges music for the shows. The current STUDs are Silvia Wang, GH '27 and Sydney Wong, ES '26. * The Social Chair plans social gatherings and bonding events for the band outside of performances. They work to create a comfortable environment for everyone in the band. The current social chairs are Cameron Gray-Lee, DC '27, and Noelle Smith, PC '28. * The Media Specialist documents the band's adventures through photos and videos. They post photos of the band on Facebook and they have control over the band's Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. The current Media Specialist is Alexa Montes Matias, MY '28. * The band consists of five sections, the leaders of which assist the Drum Major and Manager in the running of the band. They also lead sectionals and provide section morale. The current section leaders are Echo Simons (Woodwinds), BR '28; Isaiah Harvey (Brass), TD '28; and Joseph Yu (KBB), BF '28. *The Announcer announces and performs the halftime shows during football games, and works closely with Mark Ryba,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2011/02/09/accountant-by-day-announcer-by-night/|title=Accountant by day, announcer by night |first1=Jordan |last=Schneider |website=Yale Daily News |language=en|access-date=2019-11-26 |date=9 February 2011|archive-date=2021-03-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301163804/https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2011/02/09/accountant-by-day-announcer-by-night/|url-status=live}}</ref> the play-by-play announcer for Yale football. The current announcer is Calvin Fisher, TD ‘28. {{Multiple image | header = Überprops | align = right | direction = | total_width = 260 | perrow = 1/1 | image1= Yale Precision Marching Band and their Pegasus (2006 Harvard-Yale Game).jpg | caption1 = Überprop "Peggy" at The Game 2006 (wings folded) | image2= YPMBDraegonDmitriUberprop2010.JPG | caption2 = Überprop "Dmitri" at The Game 2010 (in attack position) }}
==Notable stunts== In October 1985, six YPMB members were suspended after dropping their pants at halftime during the Yale-Holy Cross game.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Freitag |first1=Michael |title=6 AT YALE ARE PENALIZED FOR PRANK IN MARCHING BAND |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1985/10/20/086423.html?pageNumber=186 |access-date=14 September 2019 |work=New York Times |date=20 October 1985 |archive-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302155521/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1985/10/20/086423.html?pageNumber=186 |url-status=live }}</ref> Only one week earlier, the band was forbidden by West Point officials from performing its halftime show during the Army-Yale game for the script's insinuation that certain government officials were communists. The following season, in the Yale-Army game at New Haven, the YPMB took the unusual step of marching in straight lines for several minutes before breaking into its usual scatter formations. (NYT 10/7/86, B4) Before the band left the field, members removed their blue blazers on the field, spelling out "USA."
==Repertoire== * '''Bulldog, Eli Yale''' words and music by Cole Porter (class of 1913) * '''Bright College Years''' (the unofficial alma mater of Yale University) words by Henry Durand in 1881 to the music of ''Die Wacht am Rhein'' * '''Down the Field''' (march two step) words by Stanleigh P. Friedman; arranged by G.L. Atwater, Jr.; published in 1905 by the Chas H. Loomis Company (New Haven, CT)<ref>http://www.bandmusicpdf.org/media/bmpdffiles/DownField.pdf {{Dead link|date=March 2022}}</ref> * '''Yale Boola, Boola''' (march) words and music by A. M. Hirsh; arranged by G. L. Jr. Atwater; Original Copyright 1906 by Leo Feist<ref>http://www.bandmusicpdf.org/media/bmpdffiles/YaleBoola.pdf{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Yale Boola, Boola</ref> * '''Yale College Life''' words by T. Herbert Reed; arranged by J.C. Heed; Original Copyright: 1903 By: Reed, Dawson & Co.<ref>http://www.bandmusicpdf.org/media/bmpdffiles/YaleCollegeLife.pdf{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Yale College Life</ref> * '''Sons of Yale: Here's to Good Old Yale''' Alternative title '''March Blue''' arranged by JL Lake; Original Copyright: 1917 by Carl Fischer<ref>http://www.bandmusicpdf.org/media/bmpdffiles/SonsYale.pdf{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Sons of Yale</ref>
The repertoire also includes scores or hundreds of songs arranges by students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/yaleband/ypmb/junta.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000304045530/http://www.yale.edu/yaleband/ypmb/junta.html |archive-date=2000-03-04 |title=Junta! Junta! Junta!}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}<!--added above External links/Sources by script-assisted edit-->
==External links== *[https://bands.yalecollege.yale.edu/yale-precision-marching-band Yale Precision Marching Band] *[http://www.yale.edu Yale University]
{{Ivy League Marching Bands|state=expanded}} {{Yale}}
Category:College marching bands in the United States Precision Marching Band Category:Scramble bands Category:1917 establishments in Connecticut