Largest Band In USC School History Performs On Saturday
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - The largest Trojan Marching Band ever assembled marched at halftime of the University of Southern California's game against the University of Arizona on Saturday.
Saturday's game was a part of the scheduled events that surrounded Homecoming Weekend at USC, and in response, nearly 900 alumni from the past half-century joined the current Trojan Marching Band for their halftime performance - over 1,100 members were on the field for the performance.
According to Brett Padelford, the band's public relations director, the Trojan Marching Band Alumni Association was responsible for putting the massive assemblage of alumni together with some traveling to Los Angeles from all around the nation, and even as far away as South Africa.
This event was originally planned for the 2020 season, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, due to the Pac-12 Conference's banning of bands, spirit
squads and mascots to limit the amount of bodies on the field.
The performance was in honor of longtime band director Arthur C. Bartner, who originally came to the university in 1970. He increased the size of the school's marching band from 85 to over 300 in his time as director. Bartner retired last year after 50 years with USC.
Bartner is responsible for the USC Marching Band that has since gained worldwide renown - they performed at six world's fairs and were twice selected by USA Today as the best band in college football.
The band has also performed in several feature films including "Forrest Gump" and "The Naked Gun." They have played three Oscars ceremonies and two Grammys ceremonies. The band has also earned two platinum albums recording the title track of Fleetwood Mac's 1979 album, "Tusk."
USC won the game 41-34 over Arizona, and they are now 4-4 this season, putting them in fourth-place in the Pac-12 South Division.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)