UCLA Alumni Band: 50 years after their first set, it’s still the best gig in town

They stood side by side, as they have for 50 football seasons, an assortment of musicians in blue UCLA polos - biology professors, attorneys, retired professionals, Ph.D. candidates, all sons and daughters of Westwood.

During halftime of the Bruins' Oct. 18 victory against Maryland, a raucous Rose Bowl crowd watched as the UCLA Alumni Band was honored for keeping Bruin spirits high, through winning seasons and tough seasons, for half a century.

"Please join us in thanking the UCLA Alumni Band for their selfless support," the voice boomed over the public announcement system. "Here's to the next 50 years!"

For Joel Fierberg, the band's president and music director, the band is part of life.

After graduating from UCLA in 1982 with a degree in music education, he went on to a career as a COO and CFO for manufacturing companies. Now retired, he's among a tight group of longtime band members, several of whom have been banging out tunes since the band's birth in 1976 - the same year Terry Donahue was hired as head football coach.

Spreading joy and celebrating the Bruin spirit

"It's the opportunity to keep participating," Fierberg said. "We joined the band because we love doing it, and that's why we keep doing it. It's a family, and we try to make it fun."

The UCLA Alumni Band - not to be confused with the UCLA Marching Band, which is made up of current students - provides the spirit soundtrack for home football games, pregame rallies and competitions, ceremonies and celebrations across the Bruin universe. Membership is open to all UCLA alumni who play a band instrument.

The all-volunteer group is currently 120 strong, with members whose graduation years range from the 1960s to the 2020s. Except for their annual barbecue and rehearsal, held each August, the whole gang rarely gathers in one place at one time. At most performances, the roster ranges from 15 to 60 members.

'Somehow … we always pull it off'

"There's a minimum instrumentation that we have to have for every single event," said Mike McDonald, a trumpet player who graduated in 1981. "Somehow, some way, we always manage to get to the minimum. It might be at the 11th hour and 59th minute that the last trumpet that you need actually signs up and is ready to go. But we always pull it off."

In addition to UCLA's fight song(s), the band's ever-evolving repertoire ranges widely, from pop standards like Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" and Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" to newer fare like Ava Max's "Kings and Queens" and even metal classics like Black Sabbath's "Paranoid."

Over the years, they've taken their show on the road to Texas, Arizona, Washington and Oregon. In 2008, they crossed the Pacific and represented UCLA at an international tourism festival in Shanghai.

There have been live TV appearances and a performance in front of a huge crowd at Dodger Stadium. On campus, the band has performed at Royce Hall and at ribbon-cuttings, like the dedication of the renovated La Kretz Botany Building.

And for the past 20 years, they have been the official band for UCLA gymnastics.

It's not just a band, it's family - literally

There are two mother-son pairings, along with a half-dozen couples. Among those couples are Joan and Ron Wiener.

Joan, who earned her degree in 1978, recalled performing in the Bay Area at a football game just a few years after graduating. It was chilly, and a fellow musician, Ron, loaned her his jacket. They married the following year. She's a percussionist; he plays clarinet.

"As a band, we're very close, and we do all kinds of things together," Joan said. "It's a way for us to getback to UCLA doing something we love to do. We have wonderful friends, and relationships have been made from it."

The band is self-sustaining and plays about 20 gigs a year. Members drive from Calimesa, Redlands, Monterey and Carson City, Nevada for games, juggling family and professional obligations.

Supporting the next generation

The band was honored with the UCLA Award for Network of the Year in 2022 for their dedication to fostering the blue-and-gold spiritand connecting with the next generation of Bruins - a commitment exemplified by the UCLA Alumni Band Memorial Scholarship, given to current UCLA students who have been in the marching band and who represent True Bruin values.

Ivy Kwok, who received her bachelor's degree in molecular cell and developmental biology, was awarded the scholarship during her senior year at UCLA. She went on to earn a master's in civil and environmental engineering and is now working on her Ph.D. Kwok joined the band as a grad student.

"Most people gravitate toward it later in life, when they're looking to reconnect with music and UCLA," she said. "I got an earlier start. It's a chance for me to connect with older band members. They've told me about the history and lore. I feel cared for. They're like my aunts and uncles from another life."

With the band well into its 50th football season, Fierberg is looking ahead to an anniversary gala planned for May on campus. It's one more thing a long to-do list, which he never seems to tire of.

"To me, it's the greatest gig," Fierberg said. "When you get the chance to do something you love and it's fun, why wouldn't you?"