Marching Band

The Carroll University Marching Pioneers are the most recent addition to the performing ensembles of the music department. The marching band promotes school spirit and fosters a sense of the history and tradition of the university among students, faculty, staff and the community.

Performances

Football

Performing at every home football game, the Marching Pioneers bring spirit, tradition and celebration to the field of Schneider Stadium. Fans look forward to the band’s pre-game “march over” to the field, signaling that competition is ready to begin. This anticipated event begins when the band gathers on the Main Lawn medallion in front of historic Main Hall. The Marching Pioneers keep fans cheering with a themed half-time show, and provides music during time outs and post-game as spectators exit the stadium.

Parades

The Marching Pioneers are available to march in area parades in addition to its performances on the field. In its inaugural year, the band has performed in the Carroll University Homecoming Parade and the Waukesha Christmas Parade. Future plans include performing at even more campus and community events.

Joining the Marching Pioneers

Brass, Woodwinds and Percussion

The Marching Pioneers welcome musicians of all ability levels. However, an audition is required so that we can learn more about your skills, properly place you for musical parts and provide you with the support you need to be successful as a member of the marching band. If you play multiple instruments, we’re open to discuss which instrument might work best both for you and for the needs of the band.

Color Guard

No audition is necessary! Whether you have experience in color guard or you’ve always wanted to participate but never had an opportunity, our color guard staff is ready to work with you. We’re looking for members who have enthusiasm, a willingness to work hard and a positive attitude to represent the Pioneer spirit alongside our marching band.

Expectations and Participation Requirements

Band Camp: Band Camp takes place the week before school starts, typically the week before Labor Day weekend.

August 20th- Leadership/Color Guard/Drumline Camps Starts
August 21st- First-Year Member Camp Starts
August 23rd- Full Band Camp Starts
August 27th- Move-in Day Performances (Last Day of Camp)

Classroom: As a member of the marching band program, it’s important for all members to recognize that group effort and cooperation are necessary for a successful program. All Marching Pioneers members are required to participate in a one-credit, marching band class that meets twice weekly during the fall semester. This course provides enriching and diverse instrumental music education, and an opportunity for members to grow broadly as musicians, and more specifically in the technical mastery of their instrument. This class also includes a number of performance opportunities in a variety of settings.

Performances: The Marching Pioneers perform at all home football games, the Carroll University homecoming parade and various other campus and community events throughout the fall semester. These performances are part of the marching band class expectation and grade.

Email to join today!

Marching Band Scholarships

Scholarships are available for incoming freshmen who join the Marching Pioneers. To be eligible, recipients must participate in marching band during the fall semester and wind ensemble during the spring semester. Auditions for scholarships occur during the spring semester, typically on campus during our spring orientation day. More details coming next semester.

Learn more about music scholarships

Band Directors and Leadership

Patrick Coughlin, Marching Band Director

pcoughli@carrollu.edu

Patrick has performed with numerous marching and athletic musical ensembles, including the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, Edgewood College Athletic Band, and Green Bay Packers Tundra Line. He has also performed as a pit musician in regional theatre companies, as a percussionist with community wind bands and symphony orchestras, and on drum set with numerous rock bands and jazz ensembles.

As an educator, Coughlin has taught and consulted with countless marching programs across the state of Wisconsin, and groups under his direction have consistently garnered high music and percussion awards. He spent ten years working as a field assistant for the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, teaching under legendary band director Michael Leckrone. He also has the distinct honor of being the creator and director of the Tundra Line, the official drumline of the Green Bay Packers, now in its fifteenth season. He has composed and arranged music for marching, concert, and popular musical ensembles, and had adjudicated solo, chamber, and marching festivals across southern Wisconsin.

Patrick holds undergraduate and masters degrees in music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied percussion performance with his mentor, Anthony DiSanza. He is a student of sacred and secular music from Brazil and the Caribbean, and has studied with Michael Spiro, Roberto Vizcaino, John Santos, and Jorgi Alabe. When not working, Patrick can be found either golfing or hanging in the Northwoods. He currently lives in Middleton, with his wife and two children.

Stephen Lange, Carroll University faculty

Stephen J. Lange, Percussion Coordinator

slange@carrollu.edu | 262.951.3179

Stephen J. Lange is the percussion coordinator for the Pride of the Pioneers and is a professor at Carroll University in the mathematics department. He holds a bachelor’s degree from UW-Whitewater in quantitative geography and degrees in math and teaching from Cardinal Stritch University.

Lange marched with the percussion section in the Warhawk Marching Band at UW-Whitewater and with Capital Sound Drum and Bugle Corps for three seasons. He taught percussion at Lighthouse Brigade for five seasons and has taught and written for various high school drumlines in the region for more than 13 years.

Rick Schadt, Drumline Coordinator

Rick Schadt is a freelance percussionist residing in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying percussion with Anthony Di Sanza, studio pedagogy with Teryl Dobbs, and Jazz & Composition with Les Thimmig. During that time, Rick was involved in numerous world and regional premieres of works for Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Percussion Ensemble including in 2011 the North American premiere of Per Nørgård’s massive work, “A Light Hour”. In 2010, Rick also performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention with the UW-World Percussion Ensemble as winners of the PAS World Percussion Ensemble Competition. Rick has more than a decade of performing experience at Lambeau Field as a member of the Tundra Line, the official drumline of the Green Bay Packers.

Rick currently teaches private lessons and his students are routinely selected to perform in regional/state honors ensembles, collegiate music programs, and competitive DCI/WGI marching ensembles. He also developed and continues to help teach the percussion curriculum for the 7th Grade Percussion, 8th Grade Percussion, and Concert Percussion classes in the Mukwonago Area School District. Additionally, he is the program director for Blue2 Percussion, Mukwonago Area School District's extracurricular percussion ensemble program. He is an active member of the Percussive Arts Society and regularly participates in the commissioning of new works for percussion.

Continually involved in the marching arts, Rick has taught a number of award-winning marching ensembles. Since 2012, his competitive ensembles have consistently won “Best Percussion” awards, being named circuit percussion champions four times, including Mukwonago’s first WSMA State Percussion title in 2015. His ensembles have also captured overall circuit championships three times, most recently Lighthouse Brigade of Racine’s first-ever outright MACBDA title in 2017.

Rick has also served as a show designer for many of the above marching ensembles, arranging winds & percussion in addition to visual design & drill writing. His arrangements and original compositions have been performed at the Youth In Music Marching Band Championships in Minneapolis, MN, Winterguard International (WGI) Regionals, and various other circuit championships. Equally comfortable in the concert hall, Rick also composes and arranges for chamber ensembles and wind band and has served as an adjudicator for percussion competitions and local solo & ensemble festivals.

Rick’s interests in music also extend into the realm of instrument repair and construction, including having built his own 5-octave marimba that he uses daily for teaching. He also spends much of his free time watching sports or composing with assistance from his cat, Grump

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