The Queen's Bands, established in 1905, is the largest and oldest current university marching band in Canada. They make their home in Grant Hall on the campus of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The Bands operations are managed by students, and during performances the Bands are led by a Drum Major.
The Bands play a large role in promoting and maintaining school spirit at Queen's. The Bands comprise six distinct units (hence the pluralization of "Bands"): a pipe band, a drum corps, a brass band (which includes woodwinds as well as brass instruments), Highland dancers, the colour guard and cheerleaders including the Queen's mascot Boo Hoo the Bear. They are led by a drum major and the colour guard. The Bands perform pre-game and half-time shows at all Golden Gaels football games, and lead the crowd in singing the Oil Thigh after the Gaels score a touchdown. For home games, the Bands lead a parade of Queen's football fans from the main campus to the football stadium at the West Campus. Once football season ends they are active in festive parades, most notably the Toronto Santa Claus Parade for Christmas, and the Montreal St. Patrick's Day Parade. In the summer of 2012 they performed at the Calgary Stampede. They are also active during Frosh Week, and have also performed internationally, for example in the New Orleans Mardi Gras parade and the South Boston St. Patrick's Day parade. They wear traditional Scottish military dress, which the Bands recently purchased for $250,000 with the gracious financial assistance of many donors, most notably the Alma Mater Society of Queen's and former Principal Bill Leggett.
The Queen's Bands is a volunteer organization, composed mainly of current undergraduates, but it also features some graduate students and occasionally some alumni among its ranks. Members of the Bands come from a wide range of musical backgrounds, however, since the main goal of the Bands, is to have fun and promote the Queen's spirit, this disparity in musical proficiency does not usually cause a problem. In any given year, the band is likely to have only one or two music majors.
The Bands' office is located in the John Deutsch University Centre, while their equipment vault is located in the basement of Grant Hall.
Read more about Queen's Bands: History
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