LINCOLN, NEBRASKA (August 26, 2021) — Lauren Plumley of Geneseo, Illinois, is part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's 296-member Cornhusker Marching Band, which will make its 2021 début September 4 at Memorial Stadium with pregame and halftime performances at Nebraska's football home opener against Fordham.
Plumley, a senior mechanical engineering major, plays clarinet.
It will be the band's first in-person performance at the stadium since November 2019.
"We're off to a great start with a successful camp and are looking forward to returning to Memorial Stadium to perform for 90,000 of our best friends and spark the game-day atmosphere with our spirit and energy," said Tony Falcone, director of the Cornhusker Marching Band.
This year's band includes representatives from nearly every region of the country; though, 74% of the students are from Nebraska. Twenty-three percent of the students are music or music education majors. The rest are studying in more than 60 other degree programs across campus. Each band member passed two auditions to gain admittance to the group.
The drum majors for the 2021 marching band are senior Jacob Coughlin of Omaha, senior Ian Maltas of Lincoln, senior Molly Olander of Burnsville, Minnesota, and junior Katherine Schmit of Lincoln. The twirlers are junior Carrigan Hurst of Little Chute, Wisconsin, senior Kimberly Law of La Quinta, California, and graduate student Steffany Lien of Lincoln.
Falcone is also associate director of bands in the Glenn Korff School of Music. Doug Bush is the assistant director of bands and assistant marching band director. Carolyn Barber, Ron and Carol Cope Professor of Music, is director of bands. Other band staff members are graduate teaching assistants Josh Cutting, Trevor Frost and Scott Walker. Bastian Wood is the percussion instructor, and Samantha Brown is the color guard instructor. Rose Johnson is the administrative technician, Jan Deaton is the office associate, and Nolan Schmit is the "voice" of the band.
The Cornhusker Marching Band, which resides in the Korff School, was founded in 1879 as an ROTC unit and is one of the oldest marching bands in the nation. The band has received many honors throughout its 142-year history, including a Distinguished Recognition Trophy presented by John Philip Sousa in 1927 and the John Philip Sousa Foundation's Sudler Trophy in 1996. The Sudler Trophy is the highest honor given to collegiate bands.
The "Pride of All Nebraska" has been seen by millions of viewers on television. The band was the first collegiate ensemble to perform at all of the major football bowl games: Rose, Orange, Fiesta, Sugar, and Cotton. For more information, visit https://arts.unl.edu/music/CMB.
For the full list of 2021 Cornhusker Marching Band members, visit https://go.unl.edu/iv7k.
