Claire Smith
Staff writer
csmith110@murraystate.edu
Photo by Richard Thompson/The News
After over a year of planning, alumni returned to campus, bringing with them an old musical tradition of great “note.”
The Men of Note jazz band is a former tradition at Murray State that began in 1939 and lasted into the ‘70s. The Men of Note were a part of the Phi Mu Alpha fraternity. They performed at events such as the Quad State Band Festival and helped with recruitment efforts.
The jazz band consisted of saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano, bass, drums, guitar and a vocalist. They performed compositions from the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Glenn Miller Band and original compositions.
Carrie McGinnis, the director of alumni relations, said planning for the event had been underway for over a year. A group of volunteers and friends of the University brought their vision to life.
“To my knowledge we haven’t had an event of this type in recent history,” McGinnis said. “You can imagine the tremendous amount of effort required for some of our alumni who may not have played with a group in years, to learn the music, practice and perform in front of a crowd, in addition to the fact that many of them haven’t seen each other for decades.”
There were up to 100 alumni expected to attend the event with 20-25 of them set to perform.
“We are so proud and appreciative that our Racer alumni still have such a connection to each other and their alma mater that they are willing to take on the challenge, time and expense it takes to come back to Murray State, in some cases hundreds of miles from home, to share in this experience and allow our students and campus community to share in it, as well,” McGinnis said.
The reunion was held over two days from Friday, March 29, through Saturday, March 30. Festivities kicked off with a reception and evening banquet.
Roger Reichmuth, a former chair of the music department and music educator, emceed Saturday’s concert. The concert was put on by 21 alumni of the Men of Note, led by John Goode, a former director of the group, and Dan Beard, a former student of Reichmuth.
“I enjoyed being the emcee as most of the returnees had been either students of mine, or were here when I had just become a faculty member as marching band director and music education person,” Reichmuth said. “It was wonderful reconnecting with so many I had not seen in years.”
The two-day event also included guest performances and clinics that were open to the public.