FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University will celebrate the naming of the Ray E. Cramer Marching Hundred Hall in the IU Homecoming parade next month.
Cramer, former director of the Marching Hundred, and his family will appear on a float just behind the band as it marches down the newly reconstructed Woodlawn Avenue. The parade Oct. 14 follows a new route, from the Indiana Memorial Union to 17th Street.
Construction of the permanent practice facility for IU’s Marching Hundred will begin this fall across 17th Street from the athletics facilities and just west of the Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center. Completion is anticipated for fall 2017. Private donations will fund the facility, named for Ray Cramer, who directed the band from 1972 to 1982.
“It has been over 30 years since the Marching Hundred has had a home,” Cramer said. “When the outdoor arboretum was constructed, our practice field in the old football stadium was gone. Over the past 30-plus years, our practice areas have been in makeshift facilities. With the construction of the new Marching Hundred Hall, the band will enjoy the location and facilities that will continue to build on the fantastic traditions of the famous Marching Hundred.
“The future editions of the Marching Hundred will benefit tremendously with this first-class facility. It is a dream come true. I wish to thank all who have worked diligently to help this dream become a reality.”
Contributors to the vision of a Marching Hundred facility include Kim and Scott Storbeck, who said: “We have always loved the tradition of the Marching Hundred, and we are so glad that our son Chase could be a part of it. Our investment in the future of the Marching Hundred is an investment in the long-standing tradition of the Jacobs School of Music and Indiana University.”
The Marching Hundred, which dates back to IU’s first 22-piece band in 1896, is a class for which students receive academic credit. Today, nearly 300 musicians comprise the Marching Hundred. Students audition for the band and perform at IU football games as well as other guest performances such as the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
In 2007, the Marching Hundred was awarded the Sudler Intercollegiate Marching Band Trophy, the nation’s highest and most coveted award for collegiate marching bands. Marching Hundred alumni number about 4,000.
Since 1983, the group has been housed in a number of temporary rehearsal spaces. The lack of an indoor space has resulted in cancelation of rehearsals during inclement weather. The new facility will establish a permanent home for the Hundred and provide a space to practice and store instruments.
“The IU Department of Bands is pleased to have the new Marching Hundred Hall named in honor of Ray E. Cramer,” said David Woodley, director of athletic bands, and associate director and professor of bands at the Jacobs School of Music. “Professor Cramer served IU and the Department of Bands for 36 years, directing the Marching Hundred for a decade and leading the department as director of bands from 1982 until his retirement in 2005. His career, as exemplified by his musical accomplishments and his commitment to excellence in education, is recognized with respect and admiration by thousands of IU alumni and music educators across the nation.”
The new building will include a large rehearsal hall and two smaller rehearsal rooms. The facility will house instrument and uniform storage as well as repair space.
“Long have we awaited the moment where the IU Marching Hundred would have a dedicated home -- one that would serve its needs as well as recognize the amazing role the band plays at Indiana University,” said Gwyn Richards, David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean of the IU Jacobs School of Music. “Many donors, alumni and friends have helped to realize the dream of this facility. We are grateful that it will bear the name of an individual who has meant so much to so many. What a phenomenal way to honor Ray E. Cramer.”