History of Band Home
Brad Townsend 
Director: 2013 - Present
Dr. Brad Townsend took over the reigns as director in 2013, but this was not his first experience with the band. Native of Somerset, Pennsylvania, Townsend attended Pitt Band Day with his high school band. The awe of watching the Pitt Band run out of the tunnels for the first time inspired him to become a band director. Since Pitt didn’t offer a music education program, Townsend received his baccalaureate degree at Penn State. Upon graduating, he pursued a master’s degree at the University of Illinois and served as the director of the Oregon State Marching Band for 11 years before arriving at Pitt in June of 2013. Townsend hired Matthew Alosi as his assistant director. Alosi, a native of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, previously taught in Pennsylvania public schools for 14 years.
A new director wasn’t the only thing that changed that year, as 2013 marked the Panthers’ shift from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The band played at several ACC welcome events during the beginning of the year and attended an exhibition at Baldwin High School. The year ended strongly with a victory against the Bowling Green Falcons at the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl in Detroit.
The following spring, the pep band attended the Panthers’ first men’s ACC basketball tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. The band also followed the team to the NCAA tournament in Orlando, Florida, where they made it to the third round. During the 2014 fall season, the band continued to spread their spirit in the Greater Pittsburgh Region by performing in the Fort Ligonier Days Parade and by attending an exhibition at McKeesport High School. Additionally, several bands from other colleges came to visit Heinz Field on gameday, including those of Akron, Duke and Syracuse. At the end of the year, the band flew out to Fort Worth, Texas to perform in the Armed Forces Bowl against the Houston Cougars.
The 2015 full band trip to Akron was accompanied by a relentless rainstorm. By the end of the day, everything—the band and all of the equipment—was completely soaked. Despite the unfortunate weather, the Panthers beat the Zips 24-7. The band also had the opportunity to do some sight-seeing Washington D.C. this year during the Military bowl against the Navy Midshipmen. The band performed at a few exhibitions, including the Bands of American Pittsburgh Regional at Gateway Highschool and another one at Brentwood Highschool. The following spring, the pep band accompanied the Women’s Basketball team to the NCAA tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee where they made it to the second round.
In 2016, the Panthers played their Penn State rivals for the first time since 2000. The game, which became the most attended sports event in Pittsburgh history, filled Heinz Field to maximum capacity. The Blue Band also attended to support their Nittany Lions, but ultimately it was the Panthers who took home the victory. The band also sent several pep bands to away games this year, including those against Virgina and North Carolina, but the most memorable trip by far was to Clemson, where Pitt’s victory resulted in an upset against the number two ranked team in the nation! Additionally, the band travelled to Allentown, Pennsylvania to perform at the Collegiate Marching Band festival. The final game of the year was at Yankee Stadium for the Pinstripe Bowl, where, unfortunately, the Panthers lost to the Northwestern Wildcats.
In the fall of 2017, the band honored all first responders and service members in their “Hail to Heroes” show during halftime at the Steelers Home Opener. The show included a march down the field in the formation of “H2H,” various patriotic images, and an outline of the Unites States for the final set. The band continued to perform at local exhibitions, this year going to Yough High School and Freeport High school. The band also took an away trip to Penn State for the continuation of the 4-year series.
By the start of the 2018 season, the band had gone completely paperless. Students began to use the Ultimate Drill Book app on their phone to learn drill. Band member Marcus Dubreuil created the “EFlip Folder” app so students could also use their phones to read music. The use of new technology made rehearsals and performances run more smoothly than ever before.
The band traveled significantly during this year, taking 3 trips that landed them in a total of 4 different states. They accompanied the Pitt Panthers to South Bend, Indiana as they took on Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish. Although the Panthers didn’t come home with a win, the band enjoyed sight-seeing in Chicago, where they saw the Cloud Gate sculpture and tasted some delicious deep-dish pizza.
For the first time since their introduction to the ACC, the Panthers made it to the championship game. This meant that the band was accompanying them to Charlotte, North Carolina for their game against Clemson. Band members enjoyed rehearsing with the Tiger Band prior to the game to practice a shared performance of the Star-Spangled Banner. Afterword, both the Pitt Band and the Tiger Band spent time getting to know each other over a barbeque luncheon. Unfortunately, the game was accompanied by a persistent rainstorm that prevented either team from taking the field during pre-game or half-time. The band, however, saw better weather later on in the season, which ended with a trip to El Paso to play at the Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Although the Panthers didn’t win, it was a good way to wrap up a successful year, as the band rang in the new year together on the flight back home, about 40,000 feet in the air.
In 2018, the Concert Band performed both a winter and spring concert for the first time. The first one was held in February at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Polish hill and the second one took place in 2019 April at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Since Dr. Townsend’s arrival at Pitt, the band has grown significantly from 250 to over a whopping 310 members. By the start of the 2019 season, every student will be playing on a school instrument and the band will be wearing new uniforms that are sporting the school’s retro colors, which were adopted by the Athletic Department in April of 2019. Under Townsend’s direction, the band has continued to improve their marching as well as their musicality.
