Since when do we have a band?

For years, Southern Utah University sports had been missing something all Division-I universities should have: an athletic band. Then, the 2022-23 school year saw the return of the Thunderbird Marching Band and, along with it, the creation of the SUU Sound Machine Basketball Bands.

The marching band was brought back for the football team’s first season in the Western Athletic Conference to add to the game-day atmosphere. Adam Lambert, SUU’s director of bands and an associate professor of music, was only looking for someone to simply get the athletic bands started when he met David Torres. Torres’ visions for the Sound of Southern Utah, the umbrella that the Thunderbird Marching Band and the SUU Sound Machine Basketball Bands fall under, were grander than Lambert even hoped for.

“The nationwide search included some very impressive applicants with amazing credentials, which speaks to the quality of the person winning the position in the end,” Lambert said of Torres.

Torres came to Cedar City with quite an impressive resume. After earning his bachelor’s degree in music performance from the University of South Florida School of Music, he decided to pursue two master’s degrees from New Mexico State University, one in trumpet performance and the other in wind conducting.

Prior to finishing his education, Torres had a long career performing on Broadway as a trumpet player in live bands, which included a five-year run with a Tony Award-winning production of the show “Blast!” He also conducted and played in the live band for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for four years.

Torres began his teaching career at Southern Arkansas University, where he was the director of athletic bands and an assistant professor of trumpet. He now fulfills those same positions at SUU and directs the brass choir in addition to the athletic bands.

With Torres’ guidance, the Thunderbird Marching Band hit the ground running. They debuted this past fall with the numbers “Thunderbird Fanfare” and “Songs We Love to Hate,” among others. They also performed the national anthem at the majority of the football games and provided the SUU fight song on occasion.

It was no easy task to get the marching band started, and a lot was demanded of its members. Torres pushed them to be their best and put high expectations on them. They learned upward of 40 formations in their first season on the field, and many of the musicians had their music completely memorized.

“I went from having practically no experience with professional marching to being in sync with 80 other people within the span of a couple weeks,” senior Hannah Small said.

“Participating in the bands enriched my school experience by being able to physically represent to people outside of the school. It was fun to cheer on the teams and also march together as a team,” Camille Overson said. “Just overall very unifying.”

The marching band welcomed students from all fields of study and with any level of experience. In fact, non-music majors made up more than 80% of the band members this year. The Sound Machine, however, requires members to have previously performed with the marching band, and they must go through an audition process in order to join.

The SUU Sound Machine Basketball Bands were an exciting addition to the basketball season. They joined forces with the student section to give the America First Event Center an atmosphere it had never seen before.

“What really makes this band fun is helping out the cheerleaders and student section with cheering,” Small said. “It’s particularly fun when the opposing team brings their band as well and we get to compete with them for who can be the loudest and play the best.”

The bands also accompanied the men’s and women’s basketball teams to Las Vegas for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament and followed the women’s team to their first March Madness appearance in the program’s history.

“I’m excited for the basketball band to be on ESPN this weekend. They’re definitely going to be on that TV,” Torres said prior to the March Madness game.

“My fondest memory this year was being able to travel to the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas and the NCAA Tournament in South Bend, Indiana,” Overson said. “Performing for people outside of Utah is something very enriching to me, especially as we chant SUU cheers.”

Torres hopes for both the Thunderbird Marching Band and the SUU Sound Machine to do more traveling. He has plans for the marching band to follow the Thunderbird football team to their game at Brigham Young University this fall. Regardless of where they go, Torres knows the athletic bands have nothing but potential moving forward.

“Progress is happening,” Torres said. “I have students knocking on my door once a week saying they want to come on board.”

“I truly hope word of this amazing and growing program spreads to anyone interested in marching band/pep band,” Overson said.

The Sound of Southern Utah is getting louder as the program continues to find ways to put its name out there.

- Written by Anden Garfield