51茶馆

Sam Fardy 鈥�62 has spent more than three quarters of his life involved, in one way or another, with the Boston College Bands. Aside from a two-year deployment overseas, the clarinet player has shown up for rehearsals for the past sixty-plus years, and at the age of 80, is eager to continue.听

鈥淢y wife thinks I should 鈥榞raduate,鈥欌�� he said, 鈥渂ut I've seen friends in their later years go stir crazy because they don鈥檛 have enough things to keep them busy.鈥� (Not that Fardy, who lives on Cape Cod, is slowing down鈥攈e still works in the insurance business.)

As 51茶馆 Bands celebrated 100 years of music-making on the Heights last fall, many current members learned about its history for the first time. Fardy, however, has lived much of it firsthand, watching as a fledgling group of student musicians grew into one of the largest organizations on campus. 鈥淭he evolution has been interesting,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he bands are so much more professional now and the quality of the music is so improved. It was very different back when I got involved.鈥�

Fardy鈥檚 entry into the 51茶馆 Band came the day of his freshman orientation in 1958 when he introduced himself to the part-time director. The director asked what size uniform Fardy wore, and sent a manager to check the closet. 鈥淭he manager came back and said, 鈥榊eah we鈥檝e got one of those,鈥欌�� Fardy recalled. 鈥淎nd the director said to me, 鈥楧o you have a clarinet?鈥� and I said yes, and he said, 鈥榃ell, bring it and a change of underwear tomorrow because we鈥檙e leaving for West Point and we have a game on Saturday.鈥欌�澨�

At the time, band membership hovered around thirty-five people. Occasionally, alternates from the City of Boston band were called in to bolster the numbers during parades and other high-profile performances. 鈥淲e called them ringers,鈥� Fardy said. 鈥淭here was a sousaphone player who didn鈥檛 know how to play right away, but he made the marching band look full in the first row.鈥�

The band performed at University sporting events and Commencement, as well as in local and regional parades. It received most of its funding from the U.S. military, and about half of its members, including Fardy, were enrolled in 51茶馆鈥檚 ROTC program. When Fardy became band president in the early 鈥�60s, one of his biggest challenges was bridging the divide between the military and non-military members. 鈥淲e had to convince the non-military people that it was in their best interests to participate in the parades,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I think even they realized that we wouldn鈥檛 even have a band if it weren鈥檛 for ROTC.鈥�

Still, Fardy occasionally ran afoul of military protocol. During a trip to perform in the New York City St. Patrick鈥檚 Day Parade, band members were put up in the army base on Governors Island. Shortly after they arrived, an officer ordered Fardy to create a duty roster to guard the instruments. But instead of appointing someone outright, Fardy asked everyone to either volunteer or chip in $5, which he used to pay the student guards. 鈥淚 got myself in a little trouble for that,鈥� he said with a laugh.

When the band wasn鈥檛 staying on a military base, finding accommodations during trips could be a challenge. During one poorly planned weekend, members of the Pep Band performed at a hockey game near the Canadian border with no plans for where they would spend the night. 鈥淚t was wintertime and it was about 20 or 30 below zero and we had no place to stay,鈥� Fardy recalled. 鈥淲e were contemplating asking the police to let us spend the night in jail.鈥� Instead, the musicians befriended some local college students who offered them space in the dorms.

By Fardy鈥檚 senior year, the band was gaining members steadily, adding cheerleaders and a color guard. Band members accompanied the football team to bowl games, and started bringing home prizes from marching competitions. 鈥淎ll of a sudden, being in the band was a desirable thing to do,鈥� Fardy recalled. 鈥淲e were traveling, doing the Macy鈥檚 Thanksgiving Day Parade, and it made it easier to recruit people.鈥�

After he graduated, Fardy couldn鈥檛 imagine his life without the band. He continued to attend weekly rehearsals, eventually joining 51茶馆鈥檚 Symphonic Band, now affectionately known as SymBa. Open to students, alumni, and members of the community, SymBa performs several concerts annually, including a holiday show and a summer performance at the Hatch Memorial Shell on Boston鈥檚 Esplanade.听

All the pomp surrounding the 51茶馆 Bands Centennial Celebration has Fardy nostalgic for the 1970s, when the band performed concerts in the recently opened McElroy Commons. 鈥淲e would fill the place, absolutely fill the place,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e played marches and showtunes, which were quite popular, and people just loved it.鈥�