The Big Red Bands Alumni Association demonstrated its sustained school spirit by funding the construction of a new 6,400-square-foot facility behind the Schoellkopf Crescent. Construction on the building, which will serve as the new home for the pep and marching bands, is expected to begin in 2012.

Although the design of the building has yet to be approved by the Board of Trustees, University Architect Gilbert Delgado described the structure as a “big room to practice” that will be about “three stories tall, so the acoustics are addressed.”

The project is being spearheaded by Trustee David Fischell '75, M.S. '78, Ph.D. '80, and his wife, Sarah Thole Fischell '78, who were able to put money toward the project after plans for other University buildings fell through during the financial crisis.

“The only way to build up anything new was to round up all the money before you built it,” Dr. Fischell said. “And I figured I could lead this for the BRBAA … The band alums are the most dedicated alums in the University, and they raised more than double the Annual Fund.”

Jennifer Fischell ’13, a member of the marching band and the Fischells’ daughter, emphasized how important the connections to the band had been to her family and to the Cornell experiences of many alumni.

"It's been fun working with my dad on how the band room is going to look and what it is going to include.” Ms. Fischell said in an email. “This project, in the end, however, isn’t about him and me or our family … it’s going through the process with all of the alumni and current members that really matters.”

Dr. Fischell added that he hopes support for the project will extend beyond band alumni.

“We think it would be wonderful if some of the athletes to give back to the band who has been supporting them — cheering them on for the last 50 years” he said.

Members of Big Red Bands stressed the necessity of such a building, given the constraints of their current space in Barton Hall.

“It’s poorly ventilated, really small compared to our size and it has inadequate storage,” Jen Warmingham ’12 said.

Other members said that as a sports team, the BRBAA deserved its own space.

“All the other sports teams have their own buildings. We’re under athletics but we’ve been shuffled into a corner in Barton Hall,” said Sam Dean ’12, a uniform chair for the band and a Sun columnist. “We’re out there supporting the University in the rain, wind and snow, and I think we’re finally getting what we deserve.”

While members of the marching and pep band said they are excited to receive a space of their own, not all members of Big Red Bands are satisfied with the current design, as it does not provide a practice space for the flagbearing Big Red Color Guard. 

Vicki Alexander ’10, a color guard alumna, said that she was sad about the lack of space provided for the color guard, and she has been asking as many alumni as possible to express their support for the guard.

“I know the Big Red Band Alumni Association would never purposely neglect the band, but no one in the advisory council — who are the ones making most of the design decisions — was a member of the color guard,” Alexander said. “The color guard is just not the first thing they think of.”

In an email to the band Listserv obtained by The Sun, Color Guard Co-Captain Robyn Johnson ’13 said that the Big Red Band Alumni Association chose not to petition the University for more land and instead gave the color guard the “unsatisfactory” options of practicing in the band room at a different time than the band or practicing outside.

“An outdoor color guard practice is unproductive in the event of excessively strong wind or any precipitation,” Johnson said in the email. “The color guard is part of the marching band, so it should be able to practice when the rest of the marching band practices.”

Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan Murphy ’73 said she recognized “why the color guard would want a practice space within the building,” but added that the new building could not physically accommodate them.

“The band is not marching in this building; it’s not an indoor football field. It’s just a big enough building with the proper acoustics for practicing music,” Murphy said. “The band itself, once they learn their music, will practice marching outside.”

According to Delgado, University architect, Cornell has selected the architecture firm of Baird Sampson Neuert to design the building. The firm also designed the Cornell Plantations’ Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center that opened last year.

Dr. Fischell said he hopes the Big Red Band Alumni Association, which has more than 3,000 members, will be able to raise the remaining $1 million necessary for the project from band alumni and other fans of the band.

“My goal is to get at least 500 of them to come back for homecoming in 2013,” Fischell said. “We want to get as many alumni involved as we can at whatever level, and get these people back reconnected with Cornell.”