A thunderous “Go K-State” echoed throughout campus Friday morning as the K-State Marching Band marked time to the beat of the drumline.
The band, joined by the Classy Cats, marched toward the south side of Anderson Hall for a brief performance for campus employees and students.
Director Frank Tracz directed traffic while the band crowded the street and lined up for a three-song performance.
Employees and students hurried out the doors of Anderson Hall, with President Jon Wefald in the lead, to watch from the building’s steps, as others joined the onlookers along the sidewalk.
Lisa Hund, senior in art education, is a student employee in Anderson Hall and joined others on the steps outside the building to watch the performance. She said she had watched the traditional performance in years past while working at Anderson Hall. “It’s just amazing the sound that they get,” she said.
Hund said the band always performs when Wefald is available to watch.
Robert Auten, assistant registrar of information technology in the Registrar’s Office, was one of the observers on the sidewalk. “I’ve never experienced watching them play in front of Anderson Hall like that before, and it was phenomenal,” he said. Auten said the performance was an example of the hard work that gets the band ready for the semester as it represents K-State. Throughout the performance, the crowd clapped along while the energetic performers continued entertaining them with their playing and dancing.
When the music ended, Tracz thanked the crowd and called out to the band, “Let’s get to work.”
As quickly as the performance had begun, the band marched away and everyone cleared the streets, including the employees that hurried back to their offices to continue their work.
The street was quiet and empty, just as it had been minutes before the performance began.
As the band made its way through Bosco Student Plaza to continue its practices for the day at Memorial Stadium, the beat of percussion and rhythm of marching feet could still be heard by all on campus.