History

The Western Mustang Band (WMB) is the marching band for the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. The band performs at every home football game for the Western Mustangs at Western Alumni Stadium in the fall term as well as other athletic events such as basketball and hockey games throughout the year. The band today comprises of brass, percussion, and woodwind instruments played by students from every faculty on campus, and is led by a flag corps and drum major.

The Early Years: 1923 - 1937

The "Rooters" (1923)

  In the fall of 1923, a very small band was formed under the direction of Sidney Kingsmill. Kingsmill was very active on the Western campus and was in a number of musical organizations like the Glee Club and the Arts ’25 Orchestra. He was known at the time for being an arranger and composer, and before a Western rugby game, he gathered up a small band (known as the “University Band”) to join in the parades down to the stadium.

    This small band consisted of five cornets, two clarinets, two kettle-drums, and one bass drum. The music they played were songs centered around Western and presumably the school song at the time, a composition by Kingsmill himself. The band would parade down Dundas Street to Techumseh Park, all loaded in the back of a car decorated from fender to fender in purple and white. When the parade and band got to the grand stand at the park, there was a special section reserved for “rooters”. As it was known at that time, “rooters” was the term used for the band, cheerleaders, and any loud and boisterous person who wanted to cheer on the team.

    After a couple of accounts of the band in some Western Gazette articles from October of 1923, the band stopped appearing in the newspaper and presumably football games as well. Kingsmill was a key part of the band and after his graduation, the band did not have enough support and resources to continue. It was not until 1926, which the band re-started under the direction of Bruce Wiley. 

A More Established Group (1926-1928)

   Known as the “Student Band”, this new band got started in the fall of 1926. The objectives were the same as the band Kingsmill once started; play music at the football games and promote school spirit. This band was far more organized and keen. The dean of medicine at the time, Paul McKibben played a key role in organizing this new band and with the help of Col. Brown and Col. Ross, the band got some funding through a grant, some practice space for drill, and much needed advice from the Arena Band, another marching band at this time.

    22 musicians were seen playing music at football games and even basketball games, and although the band was not the strongest, it was a good start at something concrete. Uniforms, music, and instruments were still up in the air, but Wiley kept as a strong bandmaster for the 1926 and into winter of 1927, although practices started to become less well attended, according to a Gazette article from Feb. 11th 1927.

    Uniforms for the band were demonstrated in a photo dated around the fall of 1928. This uniform consisted of a blazer with “U.W.O Band” written on the breast pocket, dark pants, shirt and tie, black shoes, and a sailor hat. The band now became under the direction of Ross Willis.

Canadian Officer Training Corps (1929-1936)

The first real major change for the band was when the Canadian Officer Training Corps (COTC) got involved in 1929. Up until this point, the band had had issues with a lot of things including finances, instruments, gathering a music collection, rehearsal facilities and consistent turnout for practices. With the COTC as the organization in charge, the band quickly went from a student-run, club to a full-fledged group.

    In a Gazette article from October 18th 1929, it was noted that Western had an officially established band, with 30 members. Correspondence during this month from Colonel W.J. Brown of the UWO COTC to the Military District Headquarters, outline the enthusiasm that many of the members of the UWO Contingent COTC had towards the idea of developing a band, but also acknowledges the fact that it may be difficult to fund the cost of instruments without assistance through financial grants.

    The initial idea was that members of the unit who had their own instruments would bring them to practice, but as the unit quickly discovered, the drummers did not own their own side-drums and bass drums and needed to get some for the unit to play together as a band. During early 1930 however, some money was collected through the Regimental Institute for instruments and although the Department of National Defense did not officially recognize the band (therefore the band would not receive government grants), money was being set aside to help fund the expenses the band would undergo, along with some funding from the University Student Commission. It should also be noted that one of the instrumental persons behind organizing the COTC Band was Freddie Kime, who later became the first bandmaster under this newly formed organization.

    A membership roster from October of 1929 shows the infant band with some members, that would later on become people to lead the band to greater successes. Ross Willis, Keith Stuart, Murray Farr, and Don Wright were all on this list in 1929 and throughout the bands existence, all were bandmasters and directors in some capacity.

    As with most new projects, the infancy of the band into the early season of 1930, led to the lack of proper uniforms for the band. Under COTC rules, the band would dress same as the unit with the khaki-coloured tunic and pants and a brimmed cap. This uniform was not a spirited one, so as is evident in pictures from the 1931 Occidentalia, the band continued to wear the uniforms of previous years when playing football games (except they exchanged the sailor hats for pillbox hats). They then would of course change into the regulation uniforms for the parades under the COTC banner.

    The band got an official uniform in the fall of 1931, which consisted of what were known as “walking-out blues”; an authorized uniform given by the National Defence Headquarters. This new uniform consisted of blue serge tunics with red piping, purple and white shoulder cords, a regulation COTC cap with white band, and blue pants. Each uniform was custom made and tailor-fitted to the individual player. They were of high quality. It was also during this time in 1931 that the competency of musicians started to excel and the band was formally asked to perform at the football games, in full COTC blue dress. The band continued moving forward in a steady direction throughout 1931 and 1932. High praise came from all over the university. Many people thought the band presence at the football games was very beneficial to help boost morale and game spirits, and it was at this point that arguments were starting to be made of whether having a band based in military roots was an appropriate feature. Some argued that the band looked too out of place, being dressed in full military uniforms and wanted to have more spirited wear, but others suggested that it is better to have a band there than no band at all. This did get the attention of the University Student Commission (USC) and the Student Administrative Assembly (SAA), and they started to work towards getting a proper band organized that would just be for Western spirit, but as is shown later, that was a very difficult task.

    1933 brought on Keith Stuart as the new bandmaster for the band. A medical student at the time, Stuart led the COTC band with enthusiasm and energy, and his efforts towards the band resulted in more uniforms being purchased and the band itself getting the highest commendation from General Armstrong during inspection. Stuart stayed as bandmaster through 1934.

    In 1935, the band was celebrating its fifth anniversary. By this time, the numbers had grown to 35 dedicated members. The band received a $50 grant as well as a $17 grant for music along with the income of $100. Don Wright kept stepping up as a leader in the band and brought the band to new found fame in later years as well. During this same year, the popular piece of music “For the Merriest Fellows Are We” from the Gilbert and Sullivan show The Gondoliers, was chosen as the Regimental March; an important feature of a military band. This march was a piece of music that represents the band and the unit as well.

    1936 was the start of what is now the band seen today. In the fall of 1936, the University Student Commission held a meeting in which they decided they wanted to outfit the band with new uniforms. This was a daunting task due to two reasons. First, the funding would need to be obtained. Rough estimates at the time suggest that $1,500 would need to be collected in order to properly outfit the band. $900 was already set aside through various organizations, so the student body would need to raise the remaining $600 before the fall of 1937, in order to have the new uniforms for the football games. Second, the USC would need proper permissions from military authorities in Ottawa. Due to the nature of the COTC band, it was considered an army unit. This made it impossible for the band to parade in a different uniform other than the issued army attire.

    To combat the issue of money, various fundraising efforts were put into place in the fall of 1936 and early 1937. The annual Rugby Dance in 1936 was going to contribute 10 cents from each ticket sold to the band uniform fund. A theatre party was also held to help funds along, where the USC took over an entire theatre and held three evening shows including a main feature, stage show and sing-along. The profit of this show was all expected to go into the band uniform fund.

    This was a successful endeavour and after the funds for the 40 uniforms were raised, the contract was placed to order them.

    The larger issue at hand was the fact that the COTC band was still under the control of the military authority in Ottawa. This required that the band members be dressed in specific uniform, one that matched the other parading COTC members. The trouble with this uniform came through the student body. Many people thought that the COTC unit was not really an appropriate thing to have at a football game. Now, this issue was not a new one in 1937. In fact, an editorial in a Gazette from October of 1932 outlined “COTC is all right in the army, but decidedly out of place on the football field.”. The desire was to have a band that emulated the University school band in the United States. These bands were dressed in Hollywood-styled outfits and were very attractive. The students wanted a band that showcased the spirit of Western, and felt that having a band outfitted in purple and white would do it justice.

    After seven prior years of work done by the USC, the permissions came in from Ottawa to amalgamate the COTC Band and a University Band in early February of 1937. This permission coupled with the new funding meant that the band would be ready to go by the fall football season. The new uniforms were drafted by the president of the USC Bill Gibson, and featured purple and white caps, capes, plumes, tunics, and even white pants with a purple seam down each leg.

    It is important to note however, that the COTC Band was still the same band as the new “Western Band”. They would practice at the same times, under the rules and regulations of the Army, but when it came time to play football games, the members would don the new purple and white uniforms instead of the issued COTC uniform for the unit. At the same time, it would be possible for someone to be a part of the Western Band, but not the COTC band, but if that was the case, the person would have been asked to follow army rules, by attending practices and parades.

A ‘New’ Band: 1937 - 1939

Don Wright’s Vision (1937-1939)

The Western Band stepped out onto the football field as a fully functioning spirited group on October 2nd 1937, during the Western Mustangs v. Sarnia Imperials football game. This new band was organized under the USC and had Bandmaster Don Wright as its leader, and with a “co-ed” Beth Forbes as the drum major.

    Wright played trumpet in the band during his undergraduate years at Western and eventually took on the bandmaster role of the COTC Band in 1933. After graduating, Wright worked as a teacher at the Sir Adam Beck Collegiate Institute, and in 1935, he was asked to come back to the COTC Band to take charge as Bandmaster again. He was instrumental in obtaining the new uniforms and shaping the foundation for the new band in 1937; a model that is still the basis of the current band arrangement today.

    Don Wright instituted a couple of very innovative ideas for this new band. Probably the biggest of which, was the idea to have a female as the drum major. In the traditional setting, marching bands used a male drum major to lead the band in marching and direct the band where to march. Wright took the idea to the USC when forming this new band and after discussion, Beth Forbes, a second year medical student, filled the position. The idea of having a female drum major was a new one at this time, and amongst university marching bands in Canada, Western was the first school to integrate a female in this respectable position.

    Another very interesting addition Wright added to the band was the Herald Trumpets. These consisted of three long-belled fanfare trumpets with the initials “W” and “U” (the initials for Western University) placed on banners hanging from the bells. The three trumpets would follow behind the drum major and baton twirlers, and lead the rest of the band into the stadium and using fanfares that Wright composed, the trumpets would announce the arrival of the band. Wright was a trumpeter as well as the director, and usually was seen marching as one of the three fanfare trumpets.

    Wright was a proficient composer and arranger and did all the band arrangements of songs they played, including the school song, “Western”. Wright excelled at creating a balance for the band with made the band sound good no matter the instrument combination. He was so adamant on making the balance of the band sound good, even right down to the formation of the musicians when they were marching. He wanted the band to be heard completely from all angles. This skill in arranging the music made it so that there was only one weekly rehearsal needed to review and practice the music and formations. This rehearsal was rain or shine, from 4:30pm until dark.

    He also started integrating popular music into the bands repertoire and although traditional marches were still part of the bands regular performance list, Wright became interested in pop arrangements. Most of his new pop arrangements were of jazz songs including: Dinah, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, and Tiger Rag. The band became so popular for such arrangements.

 In Vol. 3 of his collection, 50 Years of Music with Don Wright, he recounts,

    “We were the first band anywhere to play Jazz on the football field at the half-time show. … All arrangements were short and punchy, ending big for applause, and usually brought the stands to their feet. … Once in Montreal the crowd booed the teams off the field when they tried to come back after the half-time show. They wouldn’t let us go until we had played two encores!”

    Wright arranged about a dozen or so jazz pieces for the band between 1937 and 1940 and helped solidify the new band’s existence as a spirit group. The basis of the band was to promote Western spirit at football games by playing music the crowd loved and could sing along to.

    In the 1937 season, the primary objective for the band was to support the football games in both home games and away games, but after the football season had past, Wright had suggested that there might be a concert featuring the band in the new 1938 year. It became crucial to continue the band moving forward. The football seasons were so short, from about Early October to Mid November, and the band did not get much exposure outside of the Western community. After so much time and effort was spent into developing the band during 1937, seeing it all fall to bits (much like the failed band attempts from years prior) would be quite a waste financially and physically. So, along with the plans of a concert, the band started to play other sporting events. During this time of year, hockey was the main sport in play, so the band made an appearance at a landmark game in the London Arena against the University of Michigan hockey team. This game also became important as ticket sales from the game went on to help fund the Band Maintenance Fund, a fund that allowed for the upkeep of uniforms, instruments, music and any other resources the band might go through.

    For the next two seasons, 1938 and 1939, the band was moving forward still under the direction of Don Wright. During this time, there still were fundraisers being brought forward to help purchase new uniforms. Although the initial uniform purchase got the band outfitted, an influx of members and interest required the expansion of the uniform inventory.

    One major event that garnered the band participation was the student protest during March of 1939. The background behind this was that the provincial government cut the university grant usually given to the school to offset costs. The student body got around 20,000 signatures in support and even marched down the streets of London, all with the band leading the way. As a student-run group, the band had a vested interest in the protest. The protest garnered the national spotlight as a result of the outrage.

Forming Tradition: 1940 - 1958

WWII (1940-1944)

    The band ceased operations in the fall of 1940 due to the war. All extra-curriculars at this time were not being allowed, as ordered from the administration. At this time, Don Wright left the band and the uniforms and instruments were packed up and put on the shelves. Nobody knew how long the war would last and the administration felt it not appropriate to continue any extra-curricular activities, sporting events and even dances.

    Now, although the USC-organized Western Band was out of commission, the COTC still had a band in operation. The two bands were both operating and co-existing out of the Western campus since the inception of both organizations. It was during the war that the COTC band became the only band on campus now. It is worth noting though, that this COTC band was not like its former group. The band was not as talented and organized as it had been years prior. Lack of leadership and leadership is the probable cause of this.

    The band was sparse at this time, appearing only in official COTC events and during training camps. It was in 1944 that a majority of the grants devoted to the COTC band were cut, as attitudes towards having a band changed. The COTC band continued operation in 1945, 1946 and 1947 but it was after 1947 that the COTC band ceased operation forever.

After the War (1945-1948)

After the war however, the Western Band went back into full effect. The band stepped out onto the field for the first football game of the 1945 season, with a new drum major leading the way. Kaarina Ronni took this position from 1945 to 1948, and continued the tradition of placing a female in the role of drum major. The 1945 season was a slow year for the band and there was not much noted at the time about the band this year in any local newspapers.

With the slow reboot of the band in 1945, it was in the 1946 season that things really started to get moving. During this time, Bill Beecroft became the bandmaster and started reintroducing the band back into Western student life. This included a prominent spot and page in the Student Handbook. The Student Handbook was given out to all students at the beginning of each year and outlined a number of different things such as administration and extra-curricular activities. The first appearance of the band in the book helped push students back into joining the band and increased the exposure that the band had on campus.

The Majorettes (1948-1949)

Beecroft led the band until 1948 when Al Deadman took over as the Bandmaster for the band. Deadman was a well-known musician and at the time, was the leader of the Meds Choir at Western. It was during Deadman’s first year that he introduced the majorette party to the band. Prior to this, the band would have a drum major (primarily female) leading the band in. Now, Deadman introduced the drum majorettes. This group of five women total included the drum major (now head drum majorette) and four other assistants. Joan Thrasher was the first head drum majorette and led the other four girls in daily practices on the new skills they had to learn, including the signature baton twirling and high step.

The idea of bringing in majorettes into the band was something brought on by wanting to include more females into the band, but as was evident back in the late 1940’s, the objectification of these women was apparent. As was common for most bands at this time, the band consisted only of male performers (apart from the drum major, the only female). One thing to note however, was that these new female additions were not as musicians, but more for entertainment. When looking at articles about the group of girls, it can be shown that the majorettes were primarily there to add ‘looks’ to the band. The measurements and descriptions of the girls bodies were publicized in the newspapers along with their makeup routines. Known to “Reveal legs…”, having them as an addition to the band was for flash, beauty and presence.

Although part of the job of being a majorette was to look good and impress in that regard, they also had to be pretty physically fit and talented on mastering the baton twirling skills as well as getting good at the high-stepping routine they would do while marching. Both tasks took a lot of physical skill and talent to pull them off correctly.

The introduction of the majorettes in 1949 was the last major change to the band at that point. At this point, the band really became solidified in its style and tradition and it continued to use this same model for decades past.

Under the USC (1950-1953)

Brock Hammond was appointed the new bandmaster for the 1950 fall season. Hammond was an experienced man in terms of music, and had been a part of many different musical groups at the time. It was at this time that the USC had been updating their rules and regulations. As a part of the USC, the band fell under their jurisdiction and received funding from them directly. In 1950, a formal band constitution was published under USC authority. This constitution became the basis for the operations of the band and duties of the executive members including the bandmaster, band manager and assistants.

    The band at this time also officially its name known as “The University of Western Ontario Mustang Band”, which usually got shortened to “Mustang Band” or “Western Mustang Band”. Prior to this official name establishment, names such as “University Band” or “Western Band” were used interchangeably to describe the band, something that still happens today.

    In the beginning of the 1950 fall season, the USC had planned out $1,500.00 for the budget of the band. A grant of $1,500.00 from the Board of Governors is also given to the band every year as well, and when combined, the total operating budget of the band is $3,000.00. During minutes from a USC Meeting in late September however, it was revealed that the Board of Governors recalled the $1,500.00 grant usually given out. It was discussed and settled that the Purple Spur Society as well as the Athletic Directorate would raise the remaining $1,500.00, including ideas like selling more than 1000 sombreros at football games and putting in the profits from football dances.

    Although fundraisers like this have always been put on to help the band, financial instability is something that has plagued the band even during its infancy. Since becoming officially apart of the USC in 1937, the band has always fought for more money and grants. However, due to the rise in student organizations and clubs in the USC around the start of the 1950s, the budget for the band has always been increasingly tight as more money is needed to fund other groups.

    Although money was tight, during the winter season 1951 it was recommended at a USC meeting that the band accompany on all out-of-town intercollegiate football games when possible, for the new 1951 football season. The promotion of the school through the use of the band was becoming a big deal. All schools in the ‘Old Four’ (Queen’s, McGill, Western, and Toronto) had bands at this time. Most of these bands would follow the football team to both home and away games, to some extent. The Mustang Band used to almost attend all home and away in the past, but due to the lack of money and the expense of the trains and transport for the entire band, the need to bring the band just did not hold up financially. Although the USC could not contribute more money towards the endeavor, they did publicly expressed interest in having the band play at away games when funds were available to do so.

    Carrying on the tradition set before, the band started up in the fall of 1951 for the first football game. The newly chosen majorettes donned their batons and the band members were lead Hammond again as the bandmaster, along with a new band manager for this year, Bill Blain, and Sue Thompson as the head majorette. Although separate from the band, the cheerleaders started to make more of a presence with the band and especially the majorettes. This friendship formed out of school spirit, and is one that still exists today.

    1952 saw the addition of a new bandmaster, Ron Andrew. Also new to the band at this time was the new drum major and head majorette, Carole Perry. Perry was notable because she was a “Freshette”, a girl who was going into first year on campus. She was going into the Physical Health and Recreation Education program at Western and, as with all other majorettes, was hand-picked by the band executive.

    The band began to rapidly move forward and many changes started to take place in the fall of 1953, but this was not without difficulty. A campaign through the Gazette was put into place outlining that the band needs recruitment, particularly on trumpets and horns. It was in the previous years that the band size had dwindled down and, at that point, the band had started recruiting some of its members from other high schools and marching bands around the London area to fill spots. Even with the push to recruit, the band saw a small turnout for auditions.

    In a letter to the editor exchange from the Gazette, one such person that did not get into the band questioned the method of the selection and the reasoning behind having non-Western students involved. Dick Roberts, the bandmaster in 1953, responded by outlining that the band has a capacity for 45 musicians, for which only 35 people auditioned and from that group, only 25 were capable enough to be in the band. This left quite a gap in the band and called for the recruitment of outside, skilled players, at no cost to the band to fill in the gaps. Although this was temporary measure until the group got more interest from Western, it allowed for the band to meet quota and fill out the spots and sound for events.

    It was also during this time that the band had allowed for women to start playing in the group. Jane Perkins was the first female band member. Up until this point, the only girls in the band were in the drum major section, but in the fall of 1953, Perkins was introduced as a trumpet player into the group. She was a first year nursing student and eager to join the band. It is worth noting however, that there is no evidence to say that before this time women were not allowed in the group through any sort of written rule. With the school population growing however, it was assumed that women would be integrated into the band as musicians.

    As a fundraising event, band manager Claire Toles came up with the idea at the time to sell white Stetson hats to the general Western population. Toles was a medical student in the university and he went down to Guelph to pick up the hats. Each hat cost the band $2.00, but they sold for $4.00. During the first run, they sold all 200 hats in the first year. They continued on the tradition through 1954, 1955, and 1956 profited $800, $1,200 and $1,800 respectively. Although the band got reprimanded for selling without a vendors license, once a license was purchased, the Stetsons were an instant hit. They were later integrated into the band uniform in 1970.

    Marvin Kwitko took over as bandmaster in the 1954 season, and with that he brought on some musical changes. Kwitko was an avid composer and arranger, and much like Don Wright, Kwitko arranged the music the band played. The band at this point had its full capacity at 45 musicians. Under Kwitko’s direction, practices were scheduled four times a week. It was at this time that the USC had lowered the budget of the band from $1,600.00 to $1,500.00 as the membership and staff was not warranting the extra funds.

    Kwitko stayed on as the bandmaster for the 1955 season as well, while finishing up his medical degree at Western. Kathy Kalbfleisch also became the head majorette this year. At this time, he introduced pop music into the band’s repertoire. Although the band played some traditional marches, it did not have the selection of popular music at the time until Kwitko arranged the pieces, including a new school song. These new pop tunes appealed greatly to the crowds, much like when Don Wright started to introduce jazz into the band. The band was playing to the audience and many people in the crowd remarked at how well the band sounded.

    After Kwitko left the group in spring of 1956, Brien MacDonald picked up the baton for the 1956 football season. This was the year the band got new uniforms, which were to replace the old uniforms. Up until 1956, the band had been using the 45 or so uniforms originally purchased by the USC in 1937. These new uniforms, although almost identical to the original design, were updated and made of newer fabric and included embellishments like shoulder epaulets with tassels. Although the band would have purchased some new uniforms for most musicians, the uniform for other band members would have been a combination of old and new uniform pieces due to lack of funding to purchase an entire new uniform set. These new uniforms were purchased with the help of the Purple Spur Society and the Alumni Association, who contributed funds to help offset total costs.

    Along with the new uniforms this year, the band got more female players integrated as musicians. It was regarded through an Occidentalia that “Seven majorettes step smartly out in front followed further back by an added row of female musicians this year.” The integration of women into the band was more progressive than other marching bands at the time. For example, the Blue and White Band of the University of Toronto had only men as musicians and one female as the head drum major. The bands for Queen’s and McGill held the same template and Toronto, and Western was perceived as a more integrated group.

    1957 continued much in the same respect as the year previous. Brien MacDonald stayed on as bandmaster and Rodney West was appointed as the assistant bandmaster. Apart from doing the football games, the band continued on playing basketball games, a first for this year. Up until this point, apart from possibly doing the London Santa Claus Parade, the band usually stopped for the year once the football schedule was done. Every once and a while, the band would be asked to do university events such as Founders’ Day celebrations in March, but for the most part the band became quiet after football. Basketball games became an instant favourite for the band and this became a tradition that carries on into the modern era. It is worth noting however, that the band in its very primal stages during the late 1920s would also play basketball games, but that quickly dwindled out once the band ceased.

The Golden Era: 1958 - 1968

A More Professional Group (1958-1960)

Rod West, the assistant bandmaster in the previous year was appointed to bandmaster in 1958 and along with this switch, two new positions were added to the executive. The regular executive consisted of bandmaster, assistant bandmaster, band manager and assistant manager, along with a drill master. This executive template was in place starting in 1950 when the USC approved the new band constitution. The new positions added were co-bandmaster and director of public relations. A recommendation was given through the USC and the executive board that:

  1. The bandmaster be in his penultimate year,

  2. The Assistant Bandmaster be entering his penultimate year,

  3. The former Bandmaster (who will be in his ultimate year) assume the title of Director of Public Relations, because of his expertise as Bandmaster the previous year, be of any assistance he can to the present Bandmaster,

  4. The Assistant Business Manager be in a junior year to the Business Manager. The position of Co-Bandmaster was recommended for this year at least, because it was felt that the volume of work required necessitated another man at this level.

This re-structure to the executive appointed Ron Brown as the co-bandmaster and Gene MacDonald as the director of public relations. Both Ron and Rod were fourth year business students and worked together to gather up new arrangements and new drill routines. They also worked towards getting some replacement uniform shakos as well as updating the drums. Expansion of the band was starting and this year was said to be “one of the best”, according to a Gazette article. The band stayed strong at the maximum member count of 45 men. Under a decision by Brown and West, women were not included as marching musicians anymore and were strictly allowed in the majorette section. This idea did not change for the entirety that Brown was bandmaster.

It was also during this year that the idea of having a concert band on Western’s campus was put into progress through the help of Brown and West, and the music faculty college. Both groups would be separate entities, but share members and facilities. In the fall of 1962 a motion through the USC was passed to form a committee for the development of this concert band with D.A. McKellar, the associate professor for the College of Music, and Ron Brown as committee members. The formation of this committee and concert band eventually led to the current concert band seen through the music faculty today and it is because of the Mustang band that its existence was possible.

  As discussed in the previous executive, Ron Brown took over as bandmaster in the 1959 fall season. He kept up the momentum of the previous years’ work, instituting daily practice, rain or shine. This ensured the band be in top condition for the upcoming season. He also introduced the new half-time show for this season as a tribute to different countries. This intricate show had the full band, all with new music and even an array of flags and costumes from different nations as part of the band show. It was quite a large spectacle and, like all half-time shows, was performed during the half-time portion of the home and away football games. As the band increased in dedication and disciple, Brown introduced more intricate music and shows like this throughout his span as bandmaster.

George Powell was introduced into the executive as the assistant bandmaster in 1960, with Ron ‘Brownie’ Brown back on as bandmaster. The 1960 season saw an increased membership to 49 musicians, and the usual seven total majorettes. The band finances at this time saw a significant boost. A grant of $3,240.00 was given to the band to help funding. This grant, along with the usual USC allotment of $1,500.00 increased the year budget to $4,740.00. This money was put to good use to help offset costs for when the band travelled to away games to fund the transportation and accommodation.

Along with the help of Drew Thorburn, the drill master, the new half-time routine that was decided was a show dedicated to Oscar Hammerstein, the famous Broadway composer. All the music was arranged and the first performance of this show was October 8th, 1960.

The 1960 season of the band was a very well received one. The band got a lot of attention and publicity through the Western Gazette, including many photo articles in the newspaper. The majorettes at this time were under the direction of head majorette Sue Peever. During this time the majorettes had a similarly strict schedule as the band, as far as practice was concerned. For the first couple weeks of school, they would practice for four total hours everyday after class and once the first appearance was done, the practices would move to only two hours per day. During these practices, new routines would get developed and the baton twirling along with the famous high-stepping would be practiced and perfected. The majorettes were quickly becoming a very organized and entertaining group.

A Bigger Group (1961-1964)

The addition of the colour party in the fall of 1961 was by decision of Brown. He commented in one Gazette article that the colour party will be used to “provide more sparkle”, and would provide quite a larger look to the front of the band. The new colour party consisted of four flag bearers and two rifle guards. These six new colour party girls were to join the existing majorettes and become part of the front marching group in the band. For the display of the flags, four flags were chosen that best reflect the band and the school: the Union Jack, the Canadian Ensign, a flag bearing “UWO Mustang Band”, and a flag with the school crest.

Along with the addition of the colour party, Brown increased the size of the members in the band to 55 musicians. Throughout his position as bandmaster, Brown was always taking the size into consideration. His reluctance to expand the band was so that the bands’ instrument balance stayed consistent. With the addition of six men on top of the 48, the 55 total musicians was the perfect size and, while he was bandmaster, he said that he will “never intend to expand the band beyond its present size.”, adding that, “The whole point is to give better coverage of the field.” Brown’s envision of the perfect band was starting to fall into place.

During October of the 1961 fall season, the USC granted the band 7% of the total Council’s budget; $4,167.00. This new grant allowed for the purchase of new uniforms, all the new colour party equipment (flags, rifles, flag pole, etc.), instrument repair and even the purchase of some new instruments. Some USC members called the increase in band funding into question at this time citing that if high school students were in the band, the USC should not have to support non-Western students. While this was the case in previous years, the band in 1961 only had Western students in it. Apart from the complaints left by some USC members, the endorsement of the band from the USC president Mike Hamilton led to the approval of the grant.

The total operating budget at this time was $8,417.00 for the band, including the operating expenses and capital expenses. With the contribution of the USC grant, the remaining $4,250.00 was to come from outside support such as the Athletic Association.

According to accounts from a feature article in the Gazette, the band at this point was “considered by many critics to be the finest band in the Intercollegiate circuit and perhaps Canada’s outstanding college band…”. Brown led the group to high acclaim and developed a show that is indicative to large university marching band pre-game field shows today.

The beginning of the pre-game show would start with the band moving into formation of the opposing school team letter, while playing their school song. Once that was done, they would move into the traditional ‘W’ letter formation and play the Western song. This is then capped off at the end with “The Victors”; a piece originally written for the University of Michigan. This is played as the band leaves the field. The football game would commence and the band would eagerly wait in the sidelines, playing the school songs of the time to the crowd when the whistle was blown and touchdowns were scored. During the last little portion before halftime, the band would gather up and prepare to take the field for the halftime performance.

The halftime routine then consisted of the themed show for that year. During the 1961 fall band season, the show was titled “From Broadway” and consisted of different arrangements of Broadway musical shows. During the show, the band would march and showcase different drill formations on the field. In some instances, the band would kneel when doing the letter formations. Due to the low bleacher set-up of some of the football stadiums, the letters were better seen when the band was lower to the ground. Precise marching and big sound was the ultimate goal Brown outlined for what these shows were to consist of and during his years as bandmaster, he demanded daily practice two to three hours a night along with one hour practices in the evenings on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. These daily practices were prior to the commencement of the football season.

Much like today, the band did not just perform at football games but also university and city events. The London Santa Claus Parade began in 1956 and the band was in attendance during the 1961 parade. It went on to win in the “Best Band” category for that year’s parade, beating out 12 other bands in competition. The band was awarded the Needham Funeral Service trophy as a prize. Apart from some basketball games, the band wrapped up its season following this parade and the end of the football season.

The band continued moving ahead in the 1962 football season with their new halftime routine titled “Themes from Great Movies”, which was a selection of arrangements of popular Hollywood films during this time. An addition of two more colour party girls was introduced into the band, to carry the flag and colours of the opposing team during the football games. Along with this change came the new name change. During this period of time, the band was renamed to the “Mustang Marching Band”. This new name became the official title of the band, but as before, the terms “Mustang Band”, “University Band”, and “Western Band” all came to mean the same group when talked about in casual correspondences.

A feature article in the London Free Press during the fall of 1962 outlined Ron Brown as a director, his image for the band, and what the band has to offer. At this time, Brown had graduated from Western and was teaching at a London high school. During his entire stay as the bandmaster for the band Brown did not take a salary for the position, even though it demanded many personal sacrifices. Brown continued to work with the band as well as two other public school bands during this time.

Although Brown made sacrifice for the band, it can be said that many band members made sacrifice for the group as well. In the article mention that “Band members aren’t permitted to miss a game except for sickness.”, demonstrated how seriously the rules were enforced. This, along with the hours of practice and dedication to the band meant that many members became very invested in the band and the people involved in it.

His selection process for new members was also integrated through the freshman registration in the school. During parts of the registration, if incoming freshman played an instrument or knew how to, it was recorded and this information (names, addresses, and what instruments they knew how to play) was passed along, through the registration desk to the band executive to help recruitment for the band. The executive would then start to do the recruitment, contacting first those that mentioned they played musical instruments.

It was also explained through the interview why Brown took to the approach on just having men in the band as musicians. “Women can’t march as well as men. And men have more stamina”, Brown was quoted saying. He preferred to only have men in the band, which at the time, outlined a very distinct drum corps look.

Known today as ‘classic’ drum and bugle corps, drum corps at the time were for the most part, only men, with the colour party of majorettes, rifles, and flags being only women. Brown applied many techniques of this particular style of band towards the Mustang Marching Band. Emulating the Preston Scout House band (a drum and bugle corps based out of Cambridge) he brought in Peter Shantz, a former Scout House band member to help as assistant bandmaster. Working together, they developed drill and technique that could emulate these drum corps while adding the instrumentation and style that the Mustang Marching Band had developed.

Brown’s vision of the band did not go unnoticed and musicians from all across Canada were specifically choosing Western as their Alma Mater because of the band. The article reads, “Fame of the band has spread so far that a musician from Western Canada wanting to come to school in the east came to Western because he had heard that the school had a good band.” Brown had brought the band to the highest standard with all of his implantations and even got comparisons with the famous Western football team, coached by John Metras at the time. Both the football team and the band worked as a complete sporting entertainment package during the early 1960’s and provided a spectacle for all stadium game attendees.

Ron Brown stayed as the band director (formerly known as the bandmaster) for the 1963 season. With the strict rehearsals in place, the band performed their signature style through their field show titled “Sing Along with Brown”, a show full of older pop tunes arranged in a jazz style. Noelle Grace the head majorette from the previous season, continued to fill the role this year as well as the next 1964 season.

A Tired Group (1965-1967)

A large Gazette photo spread shows the band in action during the 1965 Homecoming. The band regularly participated in this parade every year and it usually became one of the biggest event the band played. Known as the “Pride of Western” in the article, the band was a proud image of Western spirit at this time.

Although still active on Western campus, the band was not as publicized as it once was. For the start of the band season in 1967, the USC cut $2,000.00 from the band budget for the year. It was around this time that the student body as well as the USC was planning the trips for the away games. Usually the USC would reserve train cars through the Canadian National Railway and this would transport students, cheerleaders and the band to and from away games. However, the onset of the 1967 World Expo in Montreal seemed to be putting stress of the issue to see one of the large football games when Western played McGill. The USC eventually did secure the transport and funding to send the band by allotting $2,832.00 for the band’s transportation and hospitality budget.

Ron Brown was reappointed through the USC to be the band director and given a $650.00 honorarium at this time as well, but a problem was present. The membership for the band was dwindling. What used to be 55 strong musicians, was cut in half. Only 26 and 21 members showed up at the two practices before the Montreal game. This did not leave a good impression on the band in the eyes of the USC as they were the one footing the bill to have 55 musicians go to the Montreal game. It is unclear what caused the change in the band and the low numbers and after the season was finished, Ron Brown left as director the following year. With him, also left the golden era the band used to be in. The band would continue marching forward, but not at the same pace it once kept.

A Frustrated Group (1968)

1968 saw a new band director. Gary Ballantine became the new band director after years of Ron Brown’s reign. Unfortunately, at this point the band was in a bad financial position. Rooted in the purchase of poor quality instruments, the band kept losing money. The extra instruments turned out to be a poor investment for the band and the USC. The lack of proper gear created unrest among band members, who in turn stopped coming out to practices. Apathy from Western students, the USC and band members in general gave way to the lack of funding being put back into the group. Although it was tight, the band made it through 1968 through funds raised from the Alumni Association, the Purple Spur and some faculty councils. This gave the band the little bit of energy needed to keep moving forward into the next year.

New Directions: 1969 - 1974

Modernizing Old Traditions (1970-1971)

The resurrection of the band came from the USC in the summer of 1970. President Who of the USC saw great potential in the marching band as a perfect extra-curricular for students. Through the Board of Governors, the USC was given $6,000.00 to spend on new uniforms. Much like the very start of the band, the new funding for uniforms revived the group to become spirit ambassadors for the school. These new uniforms were modeled after the cheerleading uniforms at this time. Purple sweaters with as Western crest, white Stetson hats, white pants and white shoes became the new look for the band to help save on costs, as formal marching band uniforms and tunics are very costly when trying to outfit an entire group at the same time.

This new group marched out to the first home football game in October of 1970, although the band had been practicing before then. At this time, practice on the University College hill with lines drawn on the grass to help facilitate drill movements. With the help of the USC, this new band was heading in the right direction and moving back to its former glory.

John Brisbane was the new band director at this point. Brisbane was a high school teacher in London and was brought into the band to help the new transition go as smoothly as possible. A constitution was drafted by Brisbane in May of 1970 to outline what the new band and executive would look like. Strict, daily practice with 80% of the practices required for members was set as a precedent, as well as a co-ed membership base. These changes proved to be successful, as the band started getting more attention and press.

Membership continued to grow into 1971. Due to the success of the football team at this time, it was requested that the band and cheerleaders accompany the team to the 1971 Atlantic Bowl. So, in the limited time, the group raised $4,000 towards covering the cost of the plane. Funds came from local businessmen, the Board of Governors and various faculty councils to help both the band and cheerleaders get there. This was the first time that the band had done a trip of this magnitude. Although the band in previous years would sometimes travel to Montreal for McGill v. Western football games, the trip to the Atlantic Bowl in Halifax was on a whole other scale. 48 band members made the trip down along with 12 cheerleaders and they became the spirit ambassadors for Western.

Hitchhiking Across Canada (1972)

The next year, the band continued moving upwards to success. 65 students signed up for the band in the fall of 1972. With the same schedule of football and basketball games, Brisbane continued to direct the band in all events but added playing hockey games to the list of band events. The hockey crowd response to the band was a positive one and this started an ongoing tradition of adding spirit to hockey events.

As like in the previous year, the band was anxious to follow the football team to Halifax to see the Grey cup. This year however, the band saw the opportunity to raise money along their travels. As part of the travelling to get to Halifax, the 65 band members hitchhiked the 1,500 mile trip. This trip raised $2,200 from per-miles-traveled sponsorships. Band members would hitchhike in their band uniforms, and travel in pairs of two people for safety. With backup cars following on the highway to pickup any band members who did not get picked up through the motorists, the event to get to Halifax was resounding success. The donation was given to United Way and became the single-largest contribution to United Way from Western students. Although the band took the train back home from the game, this fundraising endeavor garnered a lot of press and attention from outside sources. It was a successful event through and through.

New Facilities (1973-1974)

The 1973 season saw the new band president Ted MacDonald. The executive of the band was starting to emulate the rules and guidelines set out by the USC at this time. With a band president, administrative pressure was taken off of the band director.

With an influx of band members this year, the supply of instruments started to dwindle. 64 interested musicians were fighting for a total of 53 band instruments. With the help of a loan from the USC, the band was able to acquire the needed funds to purchase some new instruments. This loan was to be repaid however and so the band started its fundraising efforts by selling chocolate bars. Attached with the chocolate bars as well were tickets for a raffle with $1000 in cash prizes. With the draw for the raffle in mid-November, the $1 chocolate bars were being sold by all members of the band under the slogan “Help Keep Our Band On The Field”. The chocolate bar fundraiser was a success for the band, garnering lots of press and attention from the university and the administration. The band managed to sell the entire lot of 2,400 chocolate bars. With the $780 loan from the USC, the Council also provided $4,000 in grant funding to help sustain the band for the 1973 season.

The band travelled with the team this year to Toronto Exhibition Stadium for the national championships; the Vanier Cup. It was during the pre-game performance that the band played with notable Canadian singer-songwriter, Shirley Eikhard. This joint performance was of the national anthem and was a highlight performance for band members at that time.

With the band expanding in size throughout the early 1970’s, the band slowly gained access to more resources from the university facilities. Ever since the beginning, the issue of physical storage for band instruments and band equipment has always been an issue. A marching band operates much differently than a traditional club and requires extra rehearsal space, storage space and even administrative areas. It is unclear of where the earliest facilities for the band were, but it can be speculated that the early uniforms and instruments may have been stored with other USC items in University College. Rehearsal space for the band was outside on the grass for most all of the Don Wright years and this trend continued into the 1940’s as well.

As soon as Thames Hall was built in the late 1940’s, the band tended to base more of its operations in this new building. Thames Hall was introduced as an athletic facility and had more space suited to the band at this time. Majorettes used the Thames Hall dance studio for rehearsals and the band even rehearsed in the Thames Hall bowling alley when the weather became inclement. The band office, which stored instruments, uniforms and administrative files was also located in Thames Hall Room 23.

The band also used a similar space to the office in Thames Hall, which was located in the basement of Somerville House, Room 01 in the tunnel from Somerville to Weldon Library. This room carried on as the band office into the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

Alumni Hall became the main rehearsal space for the band sometime in the 1970’s. With instruments being stored in the building as early as 1970, the band also acquired an indoor rehearsal room in the form of Alumni Hall, Room M2. This new space in Alumni Hall was previously used as a storage facility. The 20’ x 60’ room was located right underneath the bleachers and was an open space to allow the band to rehearse and store all necessary items. Alumni Hall Room M2 is still being used as the storage space for the band today.

Although it is unclear on the exact timeline on when the band acquired or released these different storage/rehearsal spaces, it should be noted that the band never went without a space. The university accommodated the band like all other major student organizations (e.g. USC and The Gazette), giving them access to resources that other clubs at the time would not have had the opportunity to get.