RamBand's Road to the Roses 2024

WCU’S INCOMPARABLE GOLDEN RAMS MARCHING BAND TO CELEBRATE ‘ROSE PARADE DAY’ ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

West Chester University’s “INCOMPARABLE” Golden Rams Marching Band kicks off its “Road to the Roses” journey THIS WEEKEND with festivities to celebrate and honor the Golden Rams as the first marching band in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) to march in the iconic Rose Parade® presented by Honda on Monday, January 1, 2024. This weekend marks the first of many fall events leading up to the band’s Rose Parade® appearance.

On Friday, September 15, Tournament of Roses President Alex Aghajanian arrives and will attend the band’s final rehearsal before Saturday’s first home game of the season. He’ll speak to the band and present them with their official Rose Parade® pins and posters. Representatives from the City of Philadelphia will also be on-site to present Mr. Aghajanian with a special a Liberty Bell gift.

On Saturday, September 16, join hundreds of students, parents, and alumni for the noon home opener football game vs. Gannon University! Deemed “Road to the Roses Day,” the band will unveil it’s 2023 halftime show, “In Bloom,” with themes and music that tie to the band’s Rose Parade appearance. Prior to the performance, Tournament of Roses President Alex Aghajanian will present a Tournament of Roses flag to West Chester University President Christopher Fiorentino, and President Fiorentino will make remarks about the band’s “Road to the Roses” journey.

On display will be an all-floral (dried) version of West Chester University’s seal, made of rice and purple statice, that will be used in the parade, as well as other artifacts and sketches of the band’s visual plans.

Director of Athletic Bands Adam Gumble says, “Marching in the Rose Parade has been a longtime goal of the INCOMPARABLE Golden Rams Marching Band. We are eager to share our Rose Parade plans and to introduce President Aghajanian to the students, alumni, faculty, staff, and fans who have long supported our program.”

It’s not too late to donate to the “RamBand Road to the Roses ‘24” initiative, which aims to raise $1 Million to support the band’s appearance in the Rose Parade. Gifts can be made at www.wcufoundation.org/ramband. 

Join fellow Wells School of Music alumni and friends of the University on Monday, February 20th at 12:00 pm for an informal forty-minute Zoom chat, hosted by President Fiorentino.

For more information and to register visit: https://go.wcufoundation.org/e...

Check out the news articles spotlighting our West Chester University Ram Band's Road to the Roses! 

Philadelphia Inquirer - December 12, 2022

Have you HEARD the news?? Made up of about 230 wind instrument players, 50 percussionists, 40 color guard members, five student coordinators, and four drum majors, the purple and gold marching band has a long and storied history at West Chester. Its earliest rendition can be traced to 1889.

WHYY - January 1, 2023

WHYY has picked up the beat! This past fall, our 337-member West Chester University Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band performed a show about the pressures of time. One act was an arrangement of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and another sampled Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” In the third act, inspired by Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle,” a member of the band’s color guard put down the flag she’d been spinning, picked up an electric violin, and played a solo.