On Wednesday, March 15, 2023, head band director Kevin Graham received an email from the band directors at Creighton University, located in Omaha, Nebraska. The email asked if members of the John Adams Pep Band would be willing to perform as the Creighton Pep Band for the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament since Creighton did not have enough band members for both the women’s and men’s games. Graham eagerly responded with a confirmation, and the Adams Pep Band was in. 

The band gathered on Friday March 17, 2023, where they were given their Creighton University shirts and practice for the big game. Only 29 band members were allowed to attend, so it was a very selective group. They were bussed over to the Joyce Center at Notre Dame where the tournament was taking place. The band was shown their warm up tent, and then headed to the court to find their playing stands. The stands were located directly on the court, presenting the band with an amazing view and an exciting experience. 

Upon being shown the playing area, students were met with the sight of the Mississippi State band, located directly across from them. While intimidating at first, the Adams band slowly started to gain traction and feel comfortable in the environment. Head band director Kevin Graham surely thinks so.

“The band played great and I think it was good to hear Mississippi State playing at such a high level. It challenged the students to step up their playing even more,” said Graham.

Graham further elaborated on what an incredible experience this was for his students.

“This was an amazing experience for the students to get a “college” like experience and how much fun continuing music is, even if they don‘t major in it. It’s such a cool opportunity for our students here to be ‘a part’ of the March Madness experience, even if it was only for one game. Hopefully we can do this again!”

All of the students thoroughly enjoyed their night on the court and representing the Creighton University Blue Jays. Junior and lead trumpet player David Pine embodies this enthusiasm

“It was an amazing experience to play for the Creighton University women’s basketball game. [It was] A little taste of what a college pep band is like. In the atmosphere, it’s more than just the game itself. The fans can feel both the John Adams band and the Mississippi State band playing against each other. It felt amazing, even though it was a high school band versus a D1 school band,” Pine said.

After one thrilling game, the Adams band and the Mississippi State band were able to meet near the warm up tents. Students enjoyed talking with members of the opposite band, most notably the trumpet section.

Pine said that his favorite moment of the night was getting to meet with members of the Mississippi State band.

“None of us, both bands, expected to make friends that night! But we did. You know why? Because that is what music does for humans. It binds the least expected people together from all over the world, countries, states, and cities,” Pine said. 

A member of the Mississippi State band, Chase Boudreaux, also thought that this was an incredible night, having no clue that the Creighton University band was filled with members from Adams

“My favorite part about the night was goofing off for 40 minutes and then realizing that you guys were a bunch of high schoolers,” Chase said. 

Not only did Creighton University provide Adams’s band members with an incredible opportunity, they also made a large donation to the band! The donation will be used towards new uniforms, new instruments, and entrance fees for competitions. 

The John Adams band is especially grateful for the night provided to them and cannot wait to perform for more events like this in the future.