The Man, the Myth, The Legend…The Retiree!!
Retirement of Dr. John Villella
Dr. John Villella, ’76, M’82 retired from his role of as VP of University Affairs and Chief of Staff at WCU in the end of June. He’s a classmate to some of us, or maybe he’s your past high school band director, music professor, Director of Bands, or Associate Dean of the School of Music. For all of us, he’s now a retiree!
John spent over 35 years as a member of the faculty or administration at WCU. While he’s hanging his higher education administrator hat up, he’s still at the helm of Vivace Productions and teaching our high school marching band members to be band leaders. Enjoy your retirement, John!
By the way, we have a spot saved for you in the trumpet section at Homecoming…
Directors of Bands Notes
Andy Yozviak, Greg Martin, and Adam Gumble
Our trio of directors are taking a well-deserved rest after teaching at the Incomparable Marching Band Workshop in the last week of July. They look forward to seeing you on campus this Fall at the band ensemble performances, indoor and outdoor.
The start of our semester’s work is the RamBand Training Camp, which will be held during the week of August 21 to 27. The Semester begins on August 29th, and our first Home football game is on the night of Friday, September 2nd.
See you soon!
Training Camp History Night
The RamBand Student Leadership team is planning several nights of events for the band members during training camp, and they want us be a part of the History Night event!
Tentative planning has this on Wednesday, August 24, at 9:00 p.m. When this is firmed up, we’ll let everyone know.
If you have memorabilia you’d like to display, and stories to tell, please send an email to [email protected].
WCU BAND ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCES
Scheduled Concerts for the Fall 2022 Semester are in-person and at https://vimeo.com/wsom
ALL TIMES LISTED IN THE EASTERN TIME ZONE
Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony
Sunday, October 2nd at 3:00 p.m.
Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall
Wind Ensemble
Sunday, October 30th at 3:00 p.m.
Madeline Wing Adler Theater
Wind Symphony and Concert Band
Sunday, November 20th at 7:00 p.m.
Madeline Wing Adler Theater
Wind Ensemble
Sunday, December 11th at 3:00 p.m.
Madeline Wing Adler Theater
For more details about the performances, please visit https://www.wcupa.edu/music/eventscalendar.aspx
If you missed a concert last semester, they are archived at https://vimeo.com/wsom
2022 RAM BAND SCHEDULE
RamBand Preview Show
Saturday, August 27th @ 1:00 p.m.
Farrell Stadium
(weather permitting)
BANDS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS
BAA MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
The membership of the BAA will hold a brief meeting after the Preview Show on August 27th at Farrell Stadium.
We’ll wait for Drs. Yozviak, Martin, and Gumble to get to us after the show to start the meeting.
Meet at the Press Box in the Gold Seats!
Homecoming Weekend 2022
“Rock & Roll Homecoming”
October 7th through 9th
Alumni RamBand details will be forthcoming – the WCU Homecoming Committee is still laying out the schedule for events before the game, so we can’t set our schedule yet.
Registration will open on August 27th!
***We want to include our Alumni Baton Twirlers, but do not have RamBand color guard staff that have twirling experience. If you are able to lead the Alumni Baton Twirlers, we need you to email us at [email protected] ASAP to plan for this and open registration to our Alumni Baton Twirlers!
6th Man Basketball Band Performance Opportunity
The WCU Athletic Director would love for the BAA members to cover for the 6th Man Basketball Band members for 7 Home games during the Winter Break!
Sunday 12/11 @ 1:00 p.m. (Women’s)
Friday 12/30 @5:30 p.m. (Women’s
Friday 12/30 @7:30 p.m. (Men’s)
Wednesday 1/4 @ 5:30 p.m. (Women’s)
Wednesday 1/4 @ 7:30 p.m. (Men’s)
Wednesday 1/11 @5:30 p.m. (Women’s)
Wednesday 1/11 @7:30 p.m. (Men’s)
MORE DETAILS TO COME! Mark your calendars now!
2022 NAoAB Alumni Athletic Bands Symposium
Ali Beidler proudly represented the BAA at the inaugural in-person NAoAB Alumni Athletic Band Symposium in Orlando in June. WCU was the only NCAA Division II school represented, and we’re the only known NAoAB member group that also welcomes and supports concert hall ensemble alumni.
There was so much to learn from the NAoAB chapters that are at NCAA Division I schools (i.e., SEC, Big Ten, Big XII, ACC) that Ali filled a legal-sized notepad front and back. There are Alumni RamBand ideas, development & fundraising ideas, and branding plans to bring to fruition over the next year.
Immediate changes will be seen with a new website domain, platform, and hosting service, along with the creation of Instagram and Twitter profiles by the end of August.
The 2023 NAoAB Alumni Athletic Band Symposium will be virtual, and the 2024 Symposium will be in person (site TBD).
Have you registered for your WCUAA PerksConnection account yet?
An Alumni Benefits Program has been created, and it is far more extensive than we have ever had available. Disney Parks, Universal Studio Parks, Sea World, Dell, HP, as well as several car rental companies are examples of the 60+ national companies in the program.
Major franchises with locations close to West Chester also participate, such as Subway, Domino’s Pizza, Freddy’s Steakburgers, and Buddy’s Burgers.
Visit wcuaa.perksconnection.com and get yourself registered!
2022 BAA Officer Election Process
All executive board officer positions are considered to be vacant for the biennial elections, regardless of whether the currently serving officers intend to run for a second 2-year term. Officers of the Chapter shall be limited to two consecutive two-year terms per office. Individuals can be re-elected to the same office after a two-year vacancy.
President: The President shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter. The President shall be the principal representative of the Chapter at all Association and/or University functions where a Chapter representative is needed; decide all questions of order; offer for consideration all motions regularly made; appoint all committees; participate in the implementation of the decisions of the Chapter; and perform other duties that usually pertain to this office. The President shall be an advisor (non-voting) to committees. The President or an appointed designee shall serve as a liaison member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Vice President: The Vice President of the Chapter shall be first in line of succession to the President. The Vice President shall fulfill the duties of the President whenever the President is unable to do so and shall also perform the duties that usually pertain to this office or that may be assigned by the President.
Secretary/Treasurer: The Secretary/Treasurer shall be second in line of succession to the President. The Secretary/Treasurer shall take the minutes of all meetings of the Chapter and shall also perform the duties that usually pertain to this office or that may be assigned by the President. The
Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for collecting and recording any funds related to Chapter events or programs.
Timeline for the 2022 BAA Officer Election Process:
- Electronic Nominations accepted from August 27th through October 6th
- Nominations close on October 7th during the BAA Annual Meeting
- Nominees announced by October 9th
- Electronic Election Ballots will be live from October 14th to October 24th
- Elected Officers announced by October 26th
BAA members will have more information emailed to them when Nominations
are opened by the Executive Director on August 27th.
WHAT ELECTION QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE?
Send them to the Executive Director at [email protected]
Please Support our Bands Scholarships!
Director of Bands Scholarship
Through a collaborative effort, there has been a new scholarship created in honor of the career of Dr. Andrew Yozviak, the Director of Bands at WCU since 2006. The Director of Bands Scholarship will be awarded to a marching band member who consistently exhibits the following characteristics: Love for the activity of marching band, exemplary attendance, commitment to excellence through performance, be a model example for their peers, and going above and beyond the requirements of the class to enhance the experience for all members. It will be available to Sophomore marching band members and higher.
To date, the scholarship has had enough donations accumulated to bring it into existence, but it still needs to be fully funded for awarding to our talented band members.
Amy Walp Memorial Color Guard Scholarship
This scholarship is being established in memory of Amy Walp.
In addition to honoring Amy’s legacy, your gift will help support future members of the INCOMPARABLE WCU Color Guard.
The Scholarship has not yet had enough donated towards it to make into an official fund. The monies are being held in the Director of Bands Scholarship Fund per the WCU Foundation, and are clearly marked for the creation of the Walp scholarship.
How to Donate to These Scholarships
.
- Click Here to get to the WCU Foundation website
- LOOK FOR “To search for a specific fund for your gift, please click here” and click!
- When prompted, enter this code into the Fund Number box: 2401-600FN
- Click the link that reads, “Director of Bands Scholarship”
- You can complete your donation transaction from this point!
- Click Here to get to the WCU Foundation website
- In the “My Gift is in Response to” field, please enter Amy Walp Memorial Color Guard Scholarship
- You can complete your donation transaction from this point!
Chapter Leadership
President
Kay Johnson Clauss
[email protected]
Vice President
Michael Wright
[email protected]
Secretary/Treasurer
Joey Sita
[email protected]
Director of Bands
Dr. Andrew Yozviak
[email protected]
Associate Director of Bands
Dr. M. Gregory Martin
[email protected]
Director of Athletic Bands
Dr. Adam Gumble
[email protected]