LINCOLN — Kaden Polt of Osmond is part of the University of NebraskaLincoln’s 300-member Cornhusker Marching Band, which will make its 2024 football season debut Aug. 31 at Memorial Stadium with pregame and halftime performances at Nebraska’s home opener against UTEP.
Polt, a junior majoring in fisheries and wildlife, plays trumpet. Kaden, the son of Kurt and Sarah Polt, is a 2022 Osmond High School graduate.
This year’s band includes representatives from nearly every region of the country, though 77% of the students are from Nebraska. Twenty-four percent of the students have majors in the Glenn Korff School of Music. The rest are studying in 70-plus other degree programs across campus. Each band member passed two auditions to gain admittance to the group.
The drum majors for the 2024 marching band are junior Vilynn Decker of Staplehurst, junior Tanner Maas of Gretna, senior Jason Manzitto of Lincoln and senior Annie von Kampen of North Platte. The twirlers are senior Britney Berry of Omaha and law student Steffany Lien of Lincoln.
Tony Falcone, associate director of bands in the Korff School, is the director of the Cornhusker Marching Band. Doug Bush is the assistant director of bands and assistant marching band director. Carolyn Barber, Ron and Carol Cope Professor of Music, is director of bands.
Other band staff members are graduate teaching assistants Foteini Angeli, Eric Elker and Andrea Mack. Jacob Wrobel is the percussion instructor, and Samantha Houston Brown 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 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 band has received many honors throughout its 145-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. 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. The band was the first collegiate ensemble to perform at all of the major football bowl games: Rose, Orange, Fiesta, Sugar and Cotton. For more information, visit https://arts.unl.edu/music/CMB.
For the full list of 2024 Cornhusker Marching Band members, visit https:// go.unl.edu/z8em.
