Marching Band
For over 121 years, the Mississippi State University Famous Maroon Band has provided support and entertainment for Bulldog fans everywhere. With over 350 students representing every college and school on campus, the band has always been at the heart of the Mississippi State family. During the past century, thousands of students have developed their leadership and musicianship skills through membership in the Famous Maroon Band. This long standing tradition continues each year as the Famous Maroon Band takes the field! From the pregame activities around campus to the victorious sounds of Hail State at game’s end, the Famous Maroon Band always ignites the crowd in support of the Bulldogs.
Wind Ensemble
The Wind Ensemble is the premiere instrumental student ensemble at Mississippi State University. Membership is extended to the most advanced musicians by competitive audition, regardless of university major. This select group represents the musical student leadership of the band program and performs in both the Fall and Spring semesters. Members aspire to elevate individual and collective musicianship and strengthen performance skills. The ensemble has a tradition of musical excellence and is committed to playing the finest new works along with the traditional masterpieces from the past. In addition to multiple campus performances each semester, The Wind Ensemble conducts a regional performance tour annually. The band has been the featured university band at the Mississippi Bandmaster’s Convention and for the Mississippi All-State Concert Band on several occasions and will perform for the American Bandmasters Association convention in 2020. In addition to regular performances in the Mid-South, the Wind Ensemble conducted a performance tour of the British Isles in 2008, Germany and Austria in 2011, Italy in 2014, and Austria and the Czech Republic in 2019.
In addition to their concert appearances, Ms. Lance and the Wind Ensemble embrace a mission to advance the wind ensemble literature while preparing future musical leaders. They regularly participate in the commissioning of new literature and through this process ensemble members are exposed to a diverse repertoire and a variety of compositional techniques that challenge each student to further develop their musicianship skills.
Symphonic Band
The Symphonic Band is comprised of musicians representing almost every major on the MSU campus. The group performs a comprehensive mix of wind repertoire, including orchestral transcriptions, classic works for band, contemporary concert works, and “pops” arrangements. The Symphonic Band meets Monday-Thursday during the spring semester and performs three concerts annually. Membership in the band is gained through auditions held in October. Any student with prior band experience is welcome to audition.
Concert Bands
The Concert Band and Campus Band are comprised of musicians representing a variety of majors on our campus. The groups perform a good mix of wind repertoire, including orchestral transcriptions, classic works for band, contemporary concert works, and “pops” arrangements. The bands perform two concerts during the spring semester. Membership in one of the concert bands is gained through auditions held in October, and any student with prior band experience is welcome to audition.
The Starkville/MSU Community Band
The Starkville/MSU Community Band is a mix of community members from throughout the Golden Triangle region as well as university band students and rehearses on Monday evenings during the fall and spring semesters. The band plays a mix of contemporary and traditional band literature as well as marches, patriotic music, Broadway show tunes, and other “pops” literature.
Community members can register for the course by contacting the band office at 662-325-2713. CEUs are available for participation.
Jazz Ensembles
Membership in the MSU Jazz Ensemble is open to any MSU student by placement audition regardless of major. The band rehearses two hours per week and performs one to two concerts on campus each semester. Off-campus performance opportunities are also available. Students who play bass or guitar and have not been able to participate in the typical concert band setting are encouraged to audition.
Basketball Pep Band
The MSU Pep Bands perform at all Men's and Women's home basketball games and travel to the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. In recent years, the Pep Bands have performed at the NCAA Women's Final Four (twice) as well as in Eugene, OR; Columbus, OH, Tampa, FL; Albuquerque, NM; Orlando, FL; Atlanta, GA; Greenville, SC; Charlotte, NC; Portland, OR; Dallas, TX; and San Jose, CA. Pep Band members receive a stipend in addition to their regular band scholarship. The Pep Bands are selected from members of the Marching Band.
Auxiliaries
Information on Guard and Feature Twirlers can be found on the MSU Band Auxiliaries page.