USC Trojan Marching Band
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Since its beginning in 1880, the University of Southern California
Trojan Marching Band has become the largest spirit organization on
campus. The Spirit of Troy consists of 275 student musicians and
auxiliaries representing 60 fields of undergraduate and graduate
degrees. The band received its first exposure to the national limelight
when it had the distinct privilege of performing under the baton of
John Philip Sousa. The band's real break came when it formed the 10th
Olympic Braid for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Once was not
enough, so in 1984, 125 Trojans made up the core of a mass band
performing at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 23rd Olympiad
in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The contemporary Trojan Band has
been under the direction of Arthur C. Bartner since 1970. A graduate of the
University of Michigan, Dr. Bartner developed both the "drive-it" style
of marching that has become legendary and the "rock-chart" sound copied
by collegiate programs across the country.
