At Seton Hall University, basketball is a big deal. Students, faculty, and alumni pack the Prudential Center from November to March every season. For a small school, the energy is large. However, the team's performance is not the only source of credit.
They are in the stands at every game, turning up the intensity with their instruments. They call themselves the Seton Hall Pep Band.
A team of over 70 students, spanning across majors from business to nursing, are united by one thing at band practice every Thursday night—their love of music.
For over 37 years, Debbie Sfraga developed and directed what the pep band is today. With her retirement at the end of the spring semester, she left behind some big shoes to fill.
Over the summer, Seton Hall Athletics hired a new band director. For 27 years, Dr. Brian Timmons worked in music education at the secondary music education level. He was looking for something new—an opportunity to direct at the collegiate level.
“When you can [direct in a university] with a nationally ranked basketball program, that’s gonna make [the opportunity] more exciting,” Dr. Timmons said.
For the students, a new pep band director means an adjustment period. Being an established community, they have the challenge of building new chemistry with Dr. Timmons.
“Them understanding that I'm receptive to the traditions–that's helped us get off to a good start,” Dr. Timmons said.
From 6:30-8 p.m., once a week, the student instrumentalists gather in the band room, on Corrigan Hall’s third floor.
On a recent evening, students smiled as they chatted with one another, tuning their instruments during practice.
Dr. Timmons kicked off practice with a warm-up using Katrina & The Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine.” The energy of the room was built with every “hey!” shouted throughout the song.
Vocal ad-libs are a common motif in the Pep Band’s practice songs, which would consist of a mix of pop songs ranging from the 80s to relatively recent ones. Some of these songs were Taylor Swift’s “Ready for it?” which included one shout at the end: “Are you ready for it?” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” which included some “ah’s.”
Traditional Seton Hall songs, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, included the swaying of instruments. Other traditional songs played that night were “Runaway Baby,” “Paint it Black,” and “Blinding Lights.”
Dr. Timmons has developed a great deal of chemistry across the group, as he encouraged students to play again and again. As the students played, he danced around the room and reminded the students how much of a great job they were doing.
“There are some absolutely outstanding players in this group,” Dr. Timmons said. “They're committed to do[ing] this because they really have that drive and desire to just make music.”
Dr. Timmons said he feels it has been a smooth transition into his role as the new pep band director, as he didn’t come into the role alone. The previous director guided him throughout the process.
“Debbie Sfraga reached out to me immediately and said, is there anything I can help you with,” Dr. Timmons said. “She gave me a bunch of files and really set me up for success, so I appreciate everyone's help in the transition process.”
The students have also been welcoming toward Dr. Timmons. Chemistry has come easy so far, with students being receptive to his music suggestions.
“Having a fresh set of ears and eyes to the program gives us an opportunity to look for growth areas and figure out if there are things that we could be doing differently that might ultimately be more musical or more efficient,” Timmons said.
The student leadership in the pep band is strong, as the students involved are passionate about music. Most of them played in their high school band or grew up with a love for music.
Madison Zadrozny, a senior IT management and finance major, and president of the pep band, said she enjoyed playing baritone in her high school band, but she loved the community of friends she made. She said she wanted to have a similar experience in college, which led her to join.
“I was really looking for that connection,” Zadrozny said. “So, I kind of sought out the next musical group.”
Mark Barbosa, a sophomore nursing major and trumpet section leader, said that he joined the pep band because he has been playing music his whole life.
“It would feel weird if I went to school again and I just didn’t do anything band-related,” Barbosa said. “[Music] runs through my veins.”
He also said he loves how the pep band has been so accepting and friendly to everyone.
“You can literally just walk in,” Barbosa said. “You’ll fit right in.”
Given the band’s closeness, Zadrozny said she was not concerned with a new director entering the group.
“You know, band kids are still going to ‘band kid’ no matter who's in charge,” Zadrozny said, emphasizing that all students involved come from different band directors when transitioning from high school to college.
“It doesn’t change anything from director to director,” she said.
Barbosa said everything is “the same as usual” as Dr. Timmons “fit[s] right in because we gave him the ropes.”
Under Dr. Timmons’s directorship, the only change is the responsibilities student leaders take on.
“We definitely do more administrative tasks and lead more group activities,” Zadrozny said.
The student leadership takes care of daily operations, letting Dr. Timmons focus on the “big picture items and musical things.”
Both the student leaders and Dr. Timmons are new to their positions, allowing them to bond over their new roles and create new chemistry. On top of it all, Dr. Timmons reassures them that nothing will change, as he wants to honor what Sfraga created. This has made the transition easy for the group.
“I think we try to create an environment and rehearsal that's sort of fun but productive…students don't want their time wasted if they're making a commitment,” Dr. Timmons said. “The chemistry is treating them professionally.”
With the basketball season having started on Nov. 4, the band is ready to display their new music, their skills, and their dedication. A game would not be a game with them in the Prudential Center.
Zadrozny said she believes our Pirates can take on the hardest part of their games because “we have all the energy in the world.”
Dominique Mercadante is the head editor for The Setonian’s Campus Life section. She can be reached at dominique.mercadante@student.shu.edu.
