The Biggest News From UW Commencement

By Jay Rath
The Rath of Madison, May 21, 2007

The big news from the university's recent graduation ceremonies -- for me, anyway -- was not the honorary degrees or the students' speeches (life is like studying engineering," "life is like a baseball game"). It wasn't even the made-up names students gave to the announcer as they received their degrees ("Robert E. Lee," "David Hasselhoff").

The big news regards a complete change to my very identity.

This requires some background. This weekend I was in the School of Music commencement band. But I have always been a marching band wannabe. I bet you are too, if you've ever been to a Badger game.

In college, I was in the UW-Madison Marching Band. For a week. The band trains like the athletes it serenades, and it was wearying to see my bandmates running up and down the steps of Camp Randall, a couple times daily, five days a week, for one credit. Somehow it just failed to capture my interest. It made me despondent to see them suffer so, and rather than inflict my mood upon my fellows, I thought it better to withdraw.

It broke my heart to quit, but it turned out for the best. I went into the university's concert bands -- the School of Music has three just for non-majors, and more for music majors besides. There, music changed from high school fun to a lifelong passion, especially for the serious literature of the "wind ensemble," an upscale name for what really still is band; as beautiful as a symphony, but with a texture and a clarity all its own. Orchestras can't touch it.

But still . . .

Still, all through college I looked over my shoulder at the famous, raucous, universally-beloved marching band. We all did. Who has ever heard of the UW's concert bands?

Older, wiser, these days a few other alumni and I sign up as special students and still play with the UW concert bands. And once in awhile I sign up to play in the School of Music's commencement band. It's an honor to be selected, and it's often packed with music majors, and not amateurs such as myself. So I'm doubly honored when I play in it -- to be good enough to perform with pros.

But this particular year, much of the commencement band was made up of fresh-faced musicians from marching band. And they all had nicknames: Chub, Blobo, Bufu (don't ask). Everyone in marching band has nicknames. It's as much a part of the experience as the uniform.

So there I was, years older, a super-serious wind ensemble performer, without a nickname . . . left out, again.

But not for long. My fellow saxophonists -- marchers, all -- flipped through the songbook and were struck by one title. Which is now my own, too, because they gave it to me. As a nickname.

From now on, you may call me "FANDANGO."

I don't think I have ever been prouder of anything in my life.