Celebrate 125 years of UW Badger Band at Fifth Quarter event

In celebration of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badger Band‘s inception 125 years ago, campus and the public are invited to a Fifth Quarter birthday bash on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at the Memorial Union.

The quasquicentennial party will feature cake, music and special guests — including Chancellor Biddy Martin and Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz — at noon in the Great Hall. The event is free.

“We want all Badger fans to help us celebrate our birthday,” says band director Mike Leckrone.

Anniversary commemorations will crescendo at the annual Varsity Band concert in the spring, featuring a multimedia retrospective, pyrotechnics and Rose Bowl remembrances.

“We’ll have plenty of room for everyone,” says Leckrone, “even if I have to move the tubas!”

The ensemble cherishes a storied legacy, originating as the band for University Battalion drills in the fall of 1885 and debuting the following semester with 16 players in its first civilian appearance. Performances at athletic events began late in the 19th century, with musicians touring the city in an open streetcar during the football season.

A 7,000-mile concert tour occurred in 1915, an odyssey across a dozen states that culminated in an appearance at the Panama Exposition in San Francisco and previewed the band’s developing national profile.

With the addition of female saxophonist and trumpet players in 1974, Wisconsin’s band became the first Big Ten marching band to end gender restrictions. Today, women comprise more than a third of the roster. More than 300 students march under the direction of Leckrone, who has led the band since 1969.

The 2011 Varsity Band Concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 14-16 at the Kohl Center. For information, visit http://badgerband.com.

The concert is made possible in part by sponsors including Robert W. Baird and Co., the University Book Store, WISC-TV and Channel 3000.com.