Natalie Kent
  • Pre-family and consumer science education
  • Class of 2018
  • Benkelman, Nebraska

Natalie Kent of Benkelman to perform in Cornhusker Marching Band

2016 Aug 29

Natalie Kent of Benkelman is part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's 300-member Cornhusker Marching Band, which will make its 2016 debut Sept. 3 at Memorial Stadium with pregame and halftime performances at Nebraska's football season opener against Fresno State.

Kent, a junior music, and family and consumer science major, is a tuba player.

This year's band includes representatives from nearly every region of the country, however, 76 percent of the students are from Nebraska. Twenty-five percent of the students are music majors. The rest are studying in more than 60 other degree programs across campus. Each band member passed two auditions to gain admittance to the group.

Anthony M. Falcone, associate director of bands in the Glenn Korff School of Music, is the director of the Cornhusker Marching Band. Douglas W. Bush is the assistant director of bands and assistant marching band director. Carolyn Barber, Hixson-Lied Professor of Music, is director of bands. Other band staff members are graduate teaching assistants Christopher Brandt, A.J. Burgess and Bradley Nelsen. Mike Roe is the percussion instructor and Michaela Vestecka is the color guard instructor. Rose Johnson is the administrative technician, Jan Deaton is the office associate, and Nolan Schmit is the "voice" of the band.

The drum majors for the 2016 marching band are seniors Ben Coatney of Lincoln, Meghan Coughlin of Omaha, Emily Hoffman of Beatrice and Austin Moran of Grand Island. The twirlers are graduate student Trenton Haltom of Lubbock, Texas, and sophomore Hannah Kollmann of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The Cornhusker Marching Band, which resides in the Korff School, was founded in 1879 as an ROTC unit and is one of the oldest marching bands in the nation. The marching band has received many honors throughout its 137-year history, including a Distinguished Recognition Trophy presented by John Philip Sousa in 1927 and the John Philip Sousa Foundation's Sudler Trophy in 1996 for high musical standards and innovative marching routines. The Sudler Trophy is the highest honor given to collegiate bands.

The Pride of All Nebraska has been seen by millions of viewers on television including in 2005, when the band was featured on the NBC primetime series "Tommy Lee Goes to College," in 2007 on ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and in 2008 in the motion picture "Yes Man" starring Jim Carrey. The band was the first collegiate ensemble to perform at all of the major football bowl games (Rose, Orange, Fiesta, Sugar and Cotton). The full marching band will travel to the Nebraska at Northwestern game on Sept. 24.