CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Music education senior Megan Argall (far left), pre-nursing sophomore Anita Walden, music business senior Emily Parcell and music education and performance senior Brian Petterson pose for a picture after band practice Wednesday evening.

Band honoraries help plan Family Weekend

This weekend, parents of band members will be on the field, getting a one-on-one lesson from their sons and daughters.

Kappa Kappa Psi, the band's honorary fraternity, and Tau Beta Sigma, its honorary sorority, have helped plan events for Family Weekend, including a luncheon and a rehearsal where parents will learn how to march in a band.

Emily Parcell, a music senior and president of Tau Beta Sigma, said the band rehearsal will be right before Saturday's football game. Along with teaching parents how to march, they may also get a chance to learn how to play instruments, Parcell said.

"It's huge for them to allow us to have an interactive rehearsal." Parcell said, "It should be really fun."

Although they've been around since the 1950s, few people seem to know about the fraternity and the sorority within the Pride of Arizona marching band.

Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma are dedicated to helping the band plan events and establish friendships within the band.

Parcell said this is the first year the fraternity and sorority have planned a luncheon for band members and their parents over Family Weekend.

Ramon Sepulveda, music junior and treasurer for Tau Beta Sigma, said more than 350 marching band members and their parents are coming to the luncheon, which will feature an address by Jay Rees, associate band director.

"We realize it's important that parents are excited about band too," Parcell said. "(Rees) is excited to make sure it's a good weekend for the parents."

Rees is the advisor to Tau Beta Sigma, while band director Gregg Hanson is the advisor of Kappa Kappa Psi.

Parcell said although almost of the members in the sorority and fraternity are from the marching band, anyone in a campus band ensemble is eligible to join.

Parcell said music majors are in the minority in the chapters and there are members from every type of major. Both chapters have about 30 members.

Along with helping the band put on events, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma are both chapters that do a lot of community service, Parcell said.

Brian Petterson, a music senior and president of Kappa Kappa Psi, described the chapters as a family away from home.

"It's about finding a group to belong to and a lot of people who share the same interests," Petterson said, "It's a lot of fun, but it's a lot of work too."

Sepulveda said the fraternity and sorority are important because the band doesn't have enough personnel to put on all the events throughout the year, and fraternity and sorority members do it as volunteers.

Sepulveda, who plays the trombone, said a good reason to join either chapter is to get to know people that you might not normally talk to.

"Usually coming into school you don't know anyone, and it makes it more comfortable when you join a group that you can hang out with," he said.

Parcell, who plays the trombone in the marching band, said the biggest event the sorority and fraternity are involved in is U of A Band Day. Parcell said 40 high school bands from Arizona and New Mexico come to compete in the day-long competition, which is held the weekend after Homecoming.