Spectators at Minnesota State athletics home events the last five years have enjoyed and appreciated the energy and atmosphere enhanced by the performances of the Maverick Machine, the school's marching and pep band.These ensembles fall under the direction of Michael Thursby, MSU's Director of Athletic Bands & Percussion.
MavBlog took a few moments to do a Q & A with the guy who is in charge of one of the most integral pieces to the Maverick game-day experience.
Tell us about where you're from and where you went to school
I'm from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, got my undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and have a master's from Northern Iowa.
What were you up to prior to coming to Minnesota State to get our band program up and running?
I taught high school band in Grand Rapids, Minn., for three years. My wife (Sarah) is from the Twin Cities and went to UMD. That's kind of how we ended up up north. We liked the northern Minnesota feel and this was my first introduction to hockey. And as far as my interest in coming to Minnesota State, I like sports and I like band. This is what drew me to this position.
I was a drummer growing up, but thought I could be an athlete. I played high school basketball, but it was during that time that my attention shifted to music. I've always had a passion for sports, something that was always there. I was in the drum and bugle corps and that was my outlet. Growing up, I was always a big Hawkeye fan and loved going to those events. I was in the band at Iowa and had a great experience and I knew at that point that this could be a career path.
So, you throw in my background with my passion and I thought this would something I could do, But there's not a lot of college band jobs across the country and honestly, I got lucky (in landing the Minnesota State job) and like a lot of things in life, this opportunity opened at the right time for us.
The band program at Minnesota State had been dormant for several years. How hard was it getting the Maverick Machine up and running?
We had a small budget to start with, so we bought some used stuff. In think we bought some used tubas from Waseca High School and found some used uniforms to get everything started. And we started recruiting. Between 2013 and 2015 I would say I was in 50+ schools letting kids know we had a program.
Now we take the band places. Last year there was the Super Bowl Live event (we were the only college band there). There's a big high school marching band event in October at US Bank and we've been up there a couple of times when we don't have a home football game.
My goal is to make the program open to anyone who wants to participate. We have 130 kids right now and our goal is to get to 200. I'm by myself here, so it's a big task. Right now, I don't know if we can go any bigger than that.
What kind of goals do you have for the band moving forward?
I think when I first came, I had a different vision then were we are now. I'm happy where we are now. Our goal is entertain and pump people up. I think originally I was focused more on the band and less on athletics and we've flipped that. It's gotta be fun. For everyone, the student-athletes, the fans, and for us.
I'd like to increase our numbers. That's the biggest one - increasing numbers. The travel experience has been amazing and the connections that the students have as result of what we've created. They're developing life long relationships and that's pretty cool. At the end of the day, there's wins and losses, good performances and bad performances, but we'll always have these relationships.
Personally, what lies ahead?
Well, our family's busy. Sarah is an english teacher and runs the theatre program at New Ulm High School. We have a couple of energetic sons (Carter (4) and Dillon (2)) and we absolutely love being here. We're looking forward to playing a part in the success of Maverick Athletics and continuing to grow our band program.
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