SOU Raider Band Seeks Brass to Bring Thunder for Stands Full of Fans

With football season just around the corner, pep bands everywhere are getting their chops ready for the big fall games. The annual SOU Raider Band Camp will hit the ground running with a one-week camp Sept. 16-21 under the direction of Bryan Jeffs and is seeking brass instrumentalists.

“This is not your traditional high school marching band camp, but rather an extended pre-season rehearsal where we will get to know each other, rehearse some really cool music, and get ready to play in the stands for football and basketball games – to keep the crowd buzzing,” Jeffs said.

Raider Band repertoire will include a wide variety of recent pop, classic rock tunes and the typical stadium jams. Instant riffs – or energy builders like “Seven Nation Army” – will be among the standard collection of songs. New this year will be Bonnie Tyler’s powerful “Holding Out for a Hero” and “Don’t You Forget About Me” by the Scottish rock band, Simple Minds. Classic, slow burn tunes like Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” will also round out the gigs.

“Everyone is welcome,” said Jeffs, a 2007 SOU music alum, who has been directing the Raider Band since 2016.

The SOU Raider Band is made up of music majors and students from many other areas of study attending SOU.

“If you can play, we’ll find a way,” Jeffs said.

Band camp is free and rehearsals will start with warm-ups and camaraderie in the SOU Music Building from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. “We’re not spending long hours marching on the field, our camp meets in an air-conditioned band room,” Jeffs said.

Jeffs’ goal is to grow the band to at least 50 members over the next 12 to 18 months.

“We’re always open to players of any instrument, but this year we have a need for more brass – trumpet, sousaphone and trombone specifically, but we also could use folks on mellophone and baritone” Jeffs said. “We need more players to boost our sound. Every single player, regardless of what instrument they play, elevates the band as a whole.”

The band will head down to Raider Stadium to check out the stands and field at the end of camp, so newbies can see where they will spend the fall season performing. As the chilly days of winter hit, and football wraps up, the Raider Band will pivot to play courtside for basketball season, march and play in the Jacksonville Christmas and spring Pear Blossom Festival and perform other gigs around the Rogue Valley.

“I’m excited to welcome our students back to campus and to get playing in the stands full of fans,” Jeffs said.

As a percussionist, composer and music educator, Jeffs spent his summer in drum circles teaching migrant elementary music programs, and other educational outreach classes as part of the Britt Education Program. He also just completed a commissioned graphic score (where music is depicted with visual symbols, words and signs, not traditional music notation) of forest sounds that students from Jacksonville Elementary School mapped out.

This winter, Jeffs will pivot to writing more graphic scores, and for a short time trade in his mallets for woodworking tools to make one-of-a-kind wood blocks, home-grown gourd instruments, and other special projects in his workshop. Music major and saxophonist Amanda Esser has spent the last three years as a member of the Raider Band.

“When I first came to SOU, I didn’t know there was a pep band until I heard them at the freshman orientation,” Esser said. “I emailed Bryan Jeffs immediately and was able to start right away. Everyone was very welcoming and kind, which meant a lot because I didn’t know many people at the school yet. Now starting my senior year, I am still grateful for the opportunity to meet new people and play fun music.”

Looking to the future, the SOU Athletic Department plans to continue the growth of the Raider Band by encouraging additional performance opportunities and increasing support for its members. “Coach” Bryan will hit the road to visit regional high schools and recruit band members to SOU. He will be armed and able, thanks to some generous donations from benefactors, to offer more scholarships for eligible students. “If we have some rippin’ lead trumpet player or other hot shot musician, we’ll have the flexibility to recruit them with competitive scholarships akin to athletic scholarships,” Jeffs said.

The opening football game is at 1 pm. on Saturday, Sept. 21, with the SOU Raiders going up against the College of Idaho Yotes. For more information on Raider Band, please contact jeffsb@sou.edu .