Commencement: And the band played on

Kudos to the UW-Green Bay Commencement Band under the direction of Prof. Kevin Collins! Members of the brass, woodwind and percussion ensemble were among the stars of the 40th spring commencement of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, held May 16.

If nothing else, the band earned the audience’s applause and respect with its spirited and sustained… and sustained…. performance of the opening processional march. With about 700 graduates to be seated on the main floor, and another 200 faculty, members of the platform party and flag bearers making their grand entrance, the musicians shined with an extended loop of triumphant fanfare and flourishes lasting at least 15 minutes until all were in place. (For the previous seven years a bagpiper had led the spring processional, cutting into the students’ workload, until this year’s return to the band-first tradition.) Graduating senior Melanie Riley sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”