University of Oklahoma Band | Oklahoma Musicians

University of Oklahoma band historical account · Original source

OU band Orange Bowl fundraising report · Original source

County navigation follows places named in the source records. A city crossing county boundaries can link to more than one county; this does not establish an exact historical location, birthplace or current residence.

The documented story

The official archive records conference performances from 1971 onward and bowl appearances beginning in 1938. OU received the Sudler Trophy in 1987 under Gene Thrailkill.

People and leadership

The official archive supplies a substantial leadership framework; William Wakefield is identified as director emeritus for 1985–2017. A full year-by-year list can be added from the archive without changing the core history.

Community and organization

The program is an institutional University of Oklahoma ensemble family. Its first formation included community musicians as well as students; later ensembles are university programs.

Reading the evidence

The book-captioned 1915 photograph remains an image-provenance lead, not the foundation for the 1904 origin. The official archive now resolves the master record’s former lack of an institutional history source.

Questions for further research

The original holder and rights status of the book’s 1915 image remain unresolved; that image issue does not block publication of the text history.

People named in related records

Names are retained as recorded in their source contexts.

John Merrill — Early organizer of a Norman-townsperson band (1901)
Lloyd B. Curtis — Founder and leader of the first continuous student band (1904-1914)
Dean Holmberg — Named organizer of a 1903 early band effort (1903)
James Brill — Student band leader (1915-1916)
L. Ansel White — Student band leader (1916-1917)
Oscar J. 'Daddy' Lehrer — Director (1918-1925)
Charles Eugene Springer — Named successor after Lehrer (1925-1929)
Arthur Nave — Named successor after Lehrer (1925-1929)
Roger Fenn — Named successor after Lehrer (1925-1929)
John Stehn — Named successor after Lehrer (1925-1929)
William R. Wehrend — First full-time band director (1929-1945)
Ellen Vanderslice — First woman to march on the field with the Pride (1941-10-11)
Leonard H. Haug — Assistant director and director (1938-1962)
Gene Braught — Director of Bands (1962-1971)
Gene 'Coach' Thrailkill — Director of Bands (1971-2001)
James Wright — First African American drum major (1973)
Roland Barrett — Assistant director and primary arranger; later School of Music director (1983-2022)
William K. Wakefield — Associate director and director of bands (1985-2017)
Brian Britt — Director of Bands and Pride of Oklahoma leader (2001-present)
Debra Traficante — Assistant director and interim director (2010-2013)
Justin Stolarik — Interim Pride director (2013-2014)
Shanti Simon — Director of Bands and tenured full professor (2018-2025)
Caroline Hand — Associate, interim, and Director of Concert Bands (2022-present)
Pattee Evenson — guest conductor (1946)
Ray Dvorak — guest conductor (1954)
Edwin Franko Goldman — guest conductor (1955)
Lt. Col. William F. Santelmann — guest conductor (1961)
John Paynter — guest conductor (1962)
Karel Husa — guest conductor (1972)

Dated evidence in this record

1901 – 1914
The official OU history says John Merrill organized a mostly Norman-townsperson band in 1901, a further effort followed under Dean Holmberg in 1903, and Lloyd B. Curtis founded the first continuous student band in 1904: a 16-member pep band supplemented by Norman residents. Curtis led it for ten years.
1901
Official University of Oklahoma history states that an early football band composed mostly of Norman townspeople and OU students began in 1901 and was active after each football season.
1904
Official University of Oklahoma history identifies the first continuous student band as beginning in 1904.
1905 – 1940
A November 17, 1940 El Reno Daily Tribune retrospective gives a University of Oklahoma band chronology including a 1905 organization claim, growth from eight pieces to 31 by 1917, and later Lehrer and Wehrend directorship.
1905
University of Oklahoma Western History Collections identifies a 1905 University of Oklahoma Band photograph in its photographic-archives holdings.
1907 – 1913
The official OU history records the band marching in Oklahoma Governor Charles N. Haskell’s 1907 inauguration parade and traveling to Stillwater in 1913 for competition against Oklahoma A&M.
1913
The October 10, 1913 University Oklahoman reports the first regular University of Oklahoma band practice, more than 20 students, an expected 30 members, university songs, and athletic uses.
1918 – 1929
The OU timeline states that a military band operated alongside the university ensemble during World War I and that the groups formally separated after 1922. Oscar J. 'Daddy' Lehrer directed the university band from 1918 to 1925; later successors named in the entry include Charles Eugene Springer, Arthur Nave, Roger Fenn, and John Stehn. By 1929 OU had appointed William R. Wehrend as its first full-time band director.
1921
The OU timeline records the Delta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi as installed on May 21, 1921 and names charter members Fred Bullard, Oscar Lehrer, Alfred Lubovitz, R. H. McCurtain, Edward Mats, Leslie Meyers, Ben Parks, Kloster Powell, Scott Squyres, Edwin Smith, Philip McNeill, and William Dietz.
1921-05-21
The University of Oklahoma records installation of the Delta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi on May 21, 1921 as a support-structure milestone for the university band program.
1931 – 2026
The University of Oklahoma Libraries ArchivesSpace authority record identifies Pride of Oklahoma (Marching band) as an organization, lists University of Oklahoma Marching Band as an alternate name, and reports that the authority is found in seven collections and/or records.
1931 – 1934
The OU ArchivesSpace authority record links seven records: David Boren with members of the Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band in a stadium (undated; David L. Boren Photograph Collection); OU Band 1931-32 in uniform, seated, on OU campus (1931-1932; Emil R. Kraettli Photograph Collection, oversize box Photo Room 9A, item 198); OU Band 1933-34 in uniform, seated, on OU campus (1933-1934; box Photo K-28, item 199); OU Band circa 1930s in uniform in front of Bizzell Library (oversize box Photo Room 9A, item 200); OU Band circa 1930s in uniform on North Oval in front of Evans Hall (oversize box Photo Room 9A, item 201); slides of a woman near OU Pride uniforms and a band practice (undated; box Photo U-14, item 29); and William R. Wehrend, conductor of the Pride of Oklahoma, black-and-white negative and two copies (undated; box Photo O-1, item 17).
1933 – 1934
The OU ArchivesSpace item record for OU Band 1933-34 in uniform, seated, on OU campus identifies box Photo K-28, item 199, in the Emil R. Kraettli Photograph Collection (WHC-P-1400). It dates the item to 1933-1934, marks it open for public research, identifies English-language materials, relates it to Pride of Oklahoma (Marching band), and assigns the subjects Bands (Music) and Marching bands -- Uniforms.
1934 – 1941
The official OU history says women were admitted to the band program in 1934, initially barred from football-game performance; by 1939 they could perform in the stands, and on October 11, 1941 Ellen Vanderslice became the first woman to march on the field with the Pride, at the Red River Rivalry against Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
1938 – 1962
The OU timeline identifies Leonard H. Haug as assistant director beginning in 1938 and director from 1945 to 1962. It credits his 1938 flag-swinging corps as an early collegiate color-guard model, records a co-ed transition within two years, and notes the Pride’s 1961 National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade grand prize among 200 competing units.
1938 – 2025
OU’s visible table records Pride of Oklahoma conference-championship and bowl appearances as season/game/opponent rows: 2025 CFP First Round-Alabama; 2024 Armed Forces Bowl-Navy; 2023 Alamo Bowl-Arizona; 2022 Cheez-It Bowl-Florida State; 2021 Alamo Bowl-Oregon; 2020 Cotton Bowl-Florida and Big 12 Championship-Iowa State; 2019 Peach Bowl-LSU and Big 12 Championship-Baylor; 2018 Orange Bowl-Alabama and Big 12 Championship-Texas; 2017 Rose Bowl-Georgia and Big 12 Championship-TCU; 2016 Sugar Bowl-Auburn; 2015 Orange Bowl-Clemson; 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl-Clemson; 2013 Sugar Bowl-Alabama; 2012 Cotton Bowl-Texas A&M; 2011 Insight Bowl-Iowa; 2010 Fiesta Bowl-Connecticut and Big 12 Championship-Nebraska; 2009 Sun Bowl-Stanford; 2008 BCS National Championship-Florida and Big 12 Championship-Missouri; 2007 Fiesta Bowl-West Virginia and Big 12 Championship-Missouri; 2006 Fiesta Bowl-Boise State and Big 12 Championship-Nebraska; 2005 Holiday Bowl-Oregon; 2004 Orange Bowl-USC and Big 12 Championship-Colorado; 2003 Sugar Bowl-LSU and Big 12 Championship-Kansas State; 2002 Rose Bowl-Washington State and Big 12 Championship-Colorado; 2001 Cotton Bowl-Arkansas; 2000 Orange Bowl-Florida State and Big 12 Championship-Kansas State; 1999 Independence Bowl-Ole Miss; 1994 Copper Bowl-BYU; 1993 John Hancock Bowl-Texas Tech; 1991 Gator Bowl-Virginia; 1988 Citrus Bowl-Clemson; 1987 Orange Bowl-Miami; 1986 Orange Bowl-Arkansas; 1985 Orange Bowl-Penn State; 1984 Orange Bowl-Washington; 1982 Fiesta Bowl-Arizona State; 1981 Sun Bowl-Houston; 1980 Orange Bowl-Florida State; 1979 Orange Bowl-Florida State; 1978 Orange Bowl-Nebraska; 1977 Orange Bowl-Arkansas; 1976 Fiesta Bowl-Wyoming; 1975 Orange Bowl-Michigan; 1972 Sugar Bowl-Penn State; 1971 Sugar Bowl-Auburn; 1970 Bluebonnet Bowl-Alabama; 1968 Bluebonnet Bowl-SMU; 1967 Orange Bowl-Tennessee; 1964 Gator Bowl-Florida State; 1962 Orange Bowl-Alabama; 1958 Orange Bowl-Syracuse; 1957 Orange Bowl-Duke; 1955 Orange Bowl-Maryland; 1953 Orange Bowl-Maryland; 1950 Sugar Bowl-Kentucky; 1949 Sugar Bowl-LSU; 1948 Sugar Bowl-North Carolina; 1946 Gator Bowl-NC State; 1938 Orange Bowl-Tennessee.
1940 – present
The official OU history says the program adopted a three-band-director model in 1985 and added a fourth band-director position in 2013. It lists assistant or associate directors including Robert Ross, Richard Brightwell, Donald E. Kramer, Legh W. Burns, Gary Stollsteimer, Roland Barrett, William Wakefield, Michael Boone, Jeff Jahnke, Debra Traficante, Michael Hancock, Brian Wolfe, Caroline Hand, and Eric Shannon, with the periods and interim designations shown on the timeline.
1941
A Gateway/OHS record identifies a March 31, 1941 newspaper photograph connected to the University of Oklahoma band's spring concert honoring Oscar J. Lehrer.
1946 – 2024
OU lists guest conductors: 2024 Col. Don Schofield and Frank Ticheli; 2021 Lt. Col. Michael Mensch; 2000 Ray Cramer and Mark Camphouse; 1996 Jerry Junkin; 1995 Gary Hill; 1994 Gary Lewis; 1992 John Paynter; 1986 Lt. Col. Richard Thurston, Martin Bounty, Scott Floyd, Bobby Floyd, Don Wilcox, Leonard Haug, and Edward Downing; 1980 and 1972 Karel Husa; 1962 and 1992 John Paynter; 1961 Lt. Col. William F. Santelmann; 1955 Edwin Franko Goldman; 1954 Ray Dvorak; and 1946 Pattee Evenson.
1946 – 1947
OU's official bands history exposes a historical image labeled 1946–1947 OU Concert Band, confirming a dated concert-band record in the university archive.
1946 – 1972
OU band history names dated guest conductors from 1946 through 1972.
1946 – 1955
OU’s official archive labels a 1946–47 Concert Band image and lists guest conductors Pattee Evenson, Ray Dvorak, and Edwin Franko Goldman in dated entries.
1953
A December 1, 1953 El Reno Daily Tribune report describes University of Oklahoma band members collecting donations for an Orange Bowl trip and identifies Leonard Haug as director.
1962 – 2026
The OU history presents the modern leadership sequence as Gene Braught (1962-1971), Gene 'Coach' Thrailkill (1971-2001), Brian Britt (2001-present), with Dr. Shanti Simon serving as Director of Bands from 2018 to 2025 and Dr. Caroline Hand appointed Director of Concert Bands in 2026 after 2022-2025 associate-director service and 2025-2026 interim service.
1966 – 2023
OU’s selected guest-artist list includes 2023 Amy McCabe (trumpet), Russell Sharp (trombone), and Alex Cuba (guitar/vocals); 2015 Joseph Lulloff (saxophone); 2010 Carter Pann (piano); 2008 Brandon Ridenour (trumpet); 1999 American Brass Quintet; 1997 Sam Pilafian (tuba); 1987 Brian Bowman; 1980 Don Sinta (saxophone); and 1966 Carl 'Doc' Severinsen (trumpet).
1968
A Gateway/OHS record associates a 1968 photograph with the University of Oklahoma Band and a band clinic involving approximately 200 high-school musicians at Bethany Nazarene College.
1971 – 2027
OU lists conference performances for 2027 National CBDNA (invited); 2025 OkMEA Symphony Band; 2020 Regional CBDNA (host); 2016 OkMEA; 2014 OkMEA Symphony Band; 2012 OkMEA; 2009 OkMEA; 2008 Regional CBDNA; 2007 OkMEA; 2004 Music Educators’ National Convention; 2003 OkMEA; 2001 OkMEA; 2000 American Bandmasters Association and Regional CBDNA (host); 1999 National CBDNA; 1997 OkMEA; 1996 Regional CBDNA; 1995 OkMEA; 1992 OkMEA; 1990 OkMEA and Regional CBDNA (host); 1989 National CBDNA; 1988 OkMEA; 1986 American Bandmasters Association; 1983 OkMEA; 1979 OkMEA; 1978 Regional CBDNA; 1976 OkMEA; and 1971 OkMEA.
1973 – 1987
The OU history records James Wright of Purcell as the Pride’s first African American drum major in 1973, the 1987 Sudler Trophy as the sixth recipient in the award’s history, and the 1983 Bedlam performance remembered as 'The Day The Pride Won.'
2000 – 2020
OU Bands’ official archive lists American Bandmasters Association, CBDNA, OMEA, and Music Educators National Convention appearances in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2020.
2000 – 2020
OU’s Pride of Oklahoma archive lists bowl and championship appearances from 2000 through 2020, including Orange, Cotton, Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, BCS/National Championship, Holiday, Sun, Insight, Russell Athletic, Peach, and Cotton Bowl appearances.
2010 – 2026
OU lists composers in residence: 2026 James Stephenson; 2025 Chen Yi; 2024 Frank Ticheli; 2023 Joel Love; 2022 David Biedenbender; 2021 Johan de Meij and Atlantic Reed Consort; 2018 Michael Daugherty; 2016 Paul Dooley; 2015 John Mackey; 2014 David Maslanka; 2013 Steven Bryant; 2011 John Mackey; and 2010 Carter Pann and Kevin Walczyk.
2018 – 2025
The OU timeline says Shanti Simon oversaw four concert bands and two athletic bands serving more than 400 students annually, established an annual Conducting and Teaching Symposium, led four Wind Symphony albums from 2019 through 2025, hosted the 2020 CBDNA Southwestern Division Conference in Norman, and departed in 2025 for the University of Colorado Boulder.
2019 – 2026
OU lists Conducting Symposium clinicians: 2026 Eric Wilson; 2025 Frank Ticheli; 2024 Steve Davis; 2023 Alan McMurray; 2022 H. Robert Reynolds and Craig Kirchoff; 2021 Craig Kirchhoff; and 2019 Paul Popiel.
2026
OU’s archived concert-program and media section links a Google Drive digital archive, the Pride Flickr account, and the Sooner Vision Archives Dropbox folder, and gives Dr. Eric Shannon (es@ou.edu) as the contribution contact. The page footer lists OU Bands, the School of Music, 500 West Boyd, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, and an update date of 8/28/2026.
2026
The current Pride of Oklahoma page describes a 328-member student marching band with participation across more than 70 majors and approximately three quarters of members outside music majors.
2026-09-19
OU scheduled a 2026 Band Day in which visiting high-school musicians perform halftime with the Pride of Oklahoma at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
2026-09-24
The current OU Bands program includes Wind Symphony, Symphony Band, Campus Bands, Jazz Ensembles, and the Pride of Oklahoma; the Pride performs at home, selected away, and bowl venues.
2026–2027
OU operates two Sound of the Sooners basketball-band ensembles for men’s and women’s basketball, drawing musicians from the Pride and School of Music ensembles.
circa 1930s
The OU ArchivesSpace item record identifies an OU band photograph circa the 1930s showing the band in uniform in front of Bizzell Library. It is Oversize Box Photo Room 9A, item 200, in the Emil R. Kraettli Photograph Collection (WHC-P-1400); the record is open for public research, in English, relates the item to University of Oklahoma Libraries and Pride of Oklahoma (Marching band), and assigns Bands (Music) as a subject.
circa 1930s
The OU ArchivesSpace item record identifies an OU band photograph circa the 1930s showing the band in uniform on North Oval in front of Evans Hall. It is Oversize Box Photo Room 9A, item 201, in the Emil R. Kraettli Photograph Collection (WHC-P-1400); the record is open for public research, in English, relates the item to University of Oklahoma and Pride of Oklahoma (Marching band), and assigns Bands (Music) and Marching bands -- Uniforms as subjects.