Sioux Falls, SD – I’ve been playing in the ORU Pep Band since 2008, and the highlight of the season each year, is getting to travel to the conference basketball tournament. This year, as it has been for most of the past 14 years, the trip brings us to the Summit League Tournament in South Dakota.

As an ORU alum and former broadcaster, I had enjoyed listening to the pep band for years, and often thought, ‘it would be a lot of fun to play in that band.’ Finally, when my work schedule allowed, I approached the band’s music director and conductor Kendall Johnson, and told him I would be interested in playing in the band. He didn’t know me very well at the time, and wondered what my playing ability was, but he gave me a shot as a sub in the trumpet section, and eventually I became a regular player.

I enjoy playing my trumpet any chance I get. I played in church every Sunday for many years, from the time I could read the music in the hymnal, up until 2015 when my church did away with the horn section. I still get to do solo concerts in churches, and I play in the Tulsa Praise Orchestra, but playing in the ORU Pep Band is different.

The pep band gives me an outlet to play different types of music; mostly pop and rock charts, that are written in the upper register for the lead trumpet book. That, to a trumpet player, is a lot of fun.

Johnson, an attorney by day, is in his 28th year of playing the bass guitar parts and leading the band. He said he looks forward to the trip each year as a way to get to know the band members better.

“The best part of this trip is being able to hang out with the band members on the bus, in the hotel, and eating out,” Johnson said. “It gives us an opportunity to get to know each other better and to develop friendships.”

Johnson also appreciates how well the band is received by the Summit League basketball fans.

“We have developed quite a following here in Sioux Falls, and a rather large fan base,” he said. “Some of the fans come to us with requests for songs and some people have told us they come to the tournament just to hear the band. That’s nice of them to say, and we really appreciate that.”

Ronnie Crowe, the central ministry leader of worship operations for Life Church, is a guitar player with 17 years of experience playing in the pep band.

“I just really enjoy getting to make music with friends and people I care about,” Crowe said. “I’m a guitar player, I like to play loud, and there’s no place I get to play louder than at the Summit League Tournament.”

Chaise Garrison, a senior trumpet player at ORU, is a four-year member of the band and a second-generation pep band trumpeter. “I enjoy sports and I enjoy playing fun music,” Garrison said. “I sat-in with the pep band as a senior in high school when I visited during college weekend (Quest Weekend). My dad had played in the band from 1994-99, so introduced me to Kendall.”

The was in the spring of 2018. The next fall, Garrison was enrolled at ORU and looking forward to being a part of the pep band. “When I got to ORU in the fall I knew I already had spot in the pep band,” Garrison said. “I love going on the trip each year because it’s just a unique opportunity to fellowship with people we don’t get to hang out with. I enjoy hearing their stories and gain wisdom form the older members of the band. It’s interesting to learn from people from different walk of life”

Following graduation, Garrison has big plans for his future. “I’m going into a different field than music,” he said. “I plan to pursue a degree in medicine and become a surgeon.”

Different people, from different walks of life, united by a love of music, an enjoyment of playing their instrument, and a love for ORU basketball. That  sums up the ORU Pep Band.