The UAB Marching Band performs at all 5 home football games in the fall and travels to 1-2 away games each year. Recent years' trips included Orlando for the University of Central Florida game, New Orleans for the Tulane game, and Memphis. The band meets as a class, taken for 1-hour credit in the fall, on Monday-Wednesday-Friday from 3:30-5:15. In addition, band students are required to report to campus 1 week prior to the beginning of classes in August in order to learn music and marching fundamentals as well as the first show of the season. One of the advantages of attending this "band camp" is that you will have met and befriended 200+ people before your first class! You will find the UAB Band students to be terrific people to be around. Yes, you'll work hard in rehearsal, but you'll also have a group of friends to hang out with outside of class and who can help you get adjusted to college life!
The Wind Symphony and Symphony Band meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-5:00 and perform a minimum of 3 concerts each semester. We perform substantial concert band literature and work towards a very high level of performance. Recently, our Wind Symphony performed at the AMEA State Conference in January of 2007 and at the College Band Directors National Conference Southern Division Convention in February of 2008. Most band members choose to be a part of both the Marching Blazers and the Wind Symphony/Symphony Band in order to achieve a well-rounded band experience. Although the group does contain a large number of music majors, the Wind Symphony is open to all interested instrumentalists, regardless of major, through audition.
Our Blazer Pep Band has had an exciting time the past several years..traveling with our women's and men's basketball teams. In 2004, the trip to St. Louis with our men's team in the "Sweet Sixteen" as part of the NCAA Tournament was a fantastic highlight. Recent year's trips include travel to great cities like Dallas, Houston, Memphis, and Philadelphia! The Pep Band performs at all home basketball games and travels to the tournaments with the teams. Blazer Band rehearses only on Fridays from 5:30-7 in the spring semester. There are scholarships available for students who participate in the UAB Bands. All you have to do is set up a brief audition in the band office. If you are interested, please contact our office associate, Rachel, at (205) 975-2263 to set up an appointment, or e-mail the Director of Bands, Sue Samuels at Samuels@uab.edu.