There are few places I the world

that grant an opportunity for two

drastically different ideas such as
music and sport to thrive off of one
another quite like a college campus.
The campus in question here is a
small liberal arts school in Pough-
keepsie, New York. Marist College
is located alongside the scenic Hud-
son River and has started to develop
a reputation in both the felds oI ath-
letics and music.
There is a good synergy between
the music and sports. We have a
mutual appreciation, the athletes tell
me all the time how much they ap-
preciate the spirit that the bad brings
to their games, said Marist Presi-
dent Dr. Dennis Murray.
Think about going to a college foot-
ball game on a cool, scenic, autumn
evening. Youre
out grilling the
burgers at the
tailgate, tapping
the keg, maybe
even tossing the
pigskin around,
oh and WKH JKW
VRQJ blasting
across the Astro-
turf.
Arthur Himmel-
berger just cel-
ebrated his 25
th

anniversary as
Marists Band
Director. The Michigan grad and
Army Vet wrote the Marist Fight
Song a few years ago.
'There really wasn`t any fght song
at Marist to speak of. We had an old
alma mater song, but I felt we need-
ed an updated version, something
the school could rally around, said
Himmelberger.
That is exactly what the man known
affectionately as Art granted to
the Red Fox fans. The Marist Fight
Song can be heard at a variety of
Marist events both on campus and
off.
Art has truly exceeded everyones
expectations here, he has built one
oI the fnest music programs in the
United States, Commented Mur-
ray.
The halftime show is an integral
part of the college football culture.
From the competitions of the south
to the fnal sousaphone dotting the
I at Ohio State, its easy to get lost
in the shuIfe oI the BCS when at a
small time school like Marist.
Dr. Murray cut the tape to Marists
new Leonidoff Field four years ago.
That level of commitment to foot-
ball at a school of only 4200 under-
grads is rare. However, as Murray
states, at Marist the culture created
by the bad and athletics relationship
is one of a kind.
The music, sport synergy does not
freeze up in the cold of a Pough-
keepsie winter. As a matter of fact,
things only heat up for the Red
Foxes when the Hudson dips below
zero.
Now picture this; walking through
the freezing cold of a January night
in the Northeast just to get to a small
gym, where you and 3,000 of your
closest friends gather to cheer on
your favorite team. Blowing into
your hands to warm up as you open
the door to the gym and suddenly
you are smacked I the face by a
blaring trumpet solo. That is col-
lege basketball at its fnest.
Marist has well documented suc-
cess as a basketball school, and this
is exactly where the aforementioned
relationship hits its peak. The 100+
member Marist Band packs the
student section of the on campus
McCann Center flling its 3.200
MUSIC AND SPORT:
THE PERFECT SYMBIOTIC
RELATIONSHIP By Mike Walsh
seat capacity with an overfowing
amount of sound.
Our kids really recognize all the
work the band does, and we espe-
cially notice it in January when the
students are on break, we dont like
having home games then, said
Womens Basketball Head Coach
Brian Giorgis.
The atmosphere at the McCann
Center is electric throughout the
winter months. The crowd feeds
off the bands energy and the play-
ers can feel that pulse on the court.
It translates into players being more
fred up Ior their games creating
better competition.
We want to have an
atmosphere that is both
family oriented and
very vibrant. That is
really where the band
comes into into that.
When you have a team
that is coming here and
you know that it is go-
ing to be loud and be-
cause of the band it is
going to be a really spe-
cial atmosphere, and
for a visiting team it isnt going to
be easy to win, said Marist Sports
Information Director Mike Ferraro.
On a small campus like this, most
students know each other. The
members of the band and the ath-
letes are no exception. Wandering
around campus you can regularly
see members of each organization
hanging around together.
This is a far cry from the stud foot-
ball player shoving the trombone
player in a locker.
The benefts are bountiIul Ior each
organization. In return for the
countless hours of support the band
gives to the athletes, the band gets
exposure. When Marist teams are
successful and granted opportuni-
ties to play in large scale tourna-
ments like the NCAA Tournament,
the band can piggyback on their
success and receive exposure that
they would never have otherwise.
So its that type of recognition that
flters its way through when you
have athletics events that you get
exposure from the game itself, but
what the bad is able to do, people
take notice of it because of all the
eyes that are watching the game to
begin with, said Ferraro.