The Big Red Band was led by Mr. Steven Solak, left, during the early '60s. Miss Tina Nelson is a predecessor of today's Dancerette Director Karen Fullam.
And we thought Andy Krueger's drum major wardrobe was new! 1960-61 drum major Robbie Cowart's garb has striking resemblances to today's "new" look, right down to the baton.
The saxophone and clarinet sections of the 1960-61 and '61-'62 bands, respectively. The arrow in the saxophones image points to Arthur Carden, who submitted these pictures
to the Website. The band consisted of an average of 120 members early in the decade.
Like today, the Dancerettes of the '60s were a big hit, drawing attention and raising eyebrows with their dazzling shows. Here is the
1961-62 Dancerette squad, posing in front of a familiar scene to Hilsboreans then and now.
The Big Red Band's 1995 stop in the U. S. capitol during the on-going national tour was not the first time. In 1960, Hillsborough participated
in the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D. C., an annual celebration marking the return of spring. From left, Arthur Carden, trumpeteer William Hagood, and percussionist
Harold Wester load the vehicles preparing for the trek to the Amtrak station. Director Steven Solak, right, supervises. The band raised most of $11,000 required for the trip through
various fundraisers, including the sales of candy, doughnuts, and Christmas trees. Corporate sponsors also gave their share. While in Washington, the band also interviewed Florida
Congressmen and took part in a moonlight dance cruise on the Potomac River. This picture was featured in a local newspaper.
1989 marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. Communist rule fell in eastern Europe while a more-pleasant regime took hold at Hillsborough High. 1989 was the start of the George Farmer era of the Big Red Band, coming to HHS from Chamberlain. Take a look back to Farmer's rookie year at HHS with the 1989-1990 band, using footage from the 1990 Hilsborean courtesy of the Nurse family archives.
Jennifer Smith and Reinaldo Quiles (both class of 1990) shared responsibilities and tasks of Drum Major. It was the second year Smith held the honorable
position. Smith's family has a history of music performance, a main reason why she joined the band.
Mr. Farmer added a new element to the Big Red Band in '89. 
The Flag Corps, left, consisted of about 30 girls who
waved their flags on the field to the rhythm of the music. "It was pretty slow this year," commented one Flag Corps member, but she had confidence for the future.
Despite that, the Flag Corps was phased out by the 1991 marching season, then incorporated into the Dancerette program in 1995. At right,
another significant change was the use of props in Mr. Farmer's southern-themed marching show in '89, a feat he attempted only once more in his almost nine years as Hillsborough
High School band director.
This new periodic feature on "From the Bandroom" will profile successful graduates of the Big Red Band program, bringing
you up to date on their continuing accomplishments. On November 19, French horn player Melissa Bokor, who graduated from Hillsborough High in 1997 with a 3.5 grade point average and a list of band honors, was featured on the front page photograph in The Oracle, the daily publication of the University of
South Florida, where she attends as a freshman. She and two other players were pictured practicing the piece "La Fiesta Mexicana" for wind ensemble class.
In a brief E-mail conversation with Melissa, she pointed out that the black eye -- unnoticed by the Website maintainer at the time of publication -- was caused by "a freak soap dish accident."
She did not elaborate further. (Photo from Oracle photographer Emily Peplow.)
Class of 1994: Casanova Nurse (clarinet), University of South Florida; Matthew Rivenbark (clarinet), Oglethorpe UniversityThe alumni gave helpful advice to the soon-to-be HHS grads about the life and responsibilities of a college student, coming directly from the source. One question was directed to '97 band alumna Oguntebi, asking whether or not she has come across President Bill Clinton's daughter Chelsea, who also attends Stanford, on campus. "Yes, I have met Chelsea Clinton," Oguntebi replied. "She always has several men on bikes riding behind her [for her protection], and that's kind of funny," she continued.
Class of 1996: Thomas Cork (saxophone), Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jason Goitia (tuba), University of Florida; Paul Henley (tuba), University of Chicago; Louis Malave (drum major), Hillsborough Community College
Class of 1997: Mandi Ellingwood (dancerette), University of Florida; Maurice Martin (saxophone), Benedict College; Folake Oguntebi (flute), Stanford University; Frederick Reitberger (trombone), University of Florida
Reported April 27, 1998
The latest installment of this feature focuses on Eric Rehmeyer, a 1997 graduate of HHS who performed on the trumpet in the Big Red Band.
After successful completion of International Baccalaureate courses at Hillsborough, Eric currently attends the University of Florida for
Computer Engineering. He remains musically active, participating in UF's Marching, Basketball, and Volleyball bands. The Volleyball Band,
as described by Eric, is a "volunteer effort led by graduate students" and consists of 20 to 30 musicians who play the national anthem
and provided music at home games. The Volleyball Band did travel to Spokane, Washington, recently for the volleyball Final Four. Other than
music or studying, Eric says he's "not doing anything really interesting or different."
He would like to make contact with any HHS students or alumni who remember him. You can visit Eric at his own Website, http://www.afn.org/~afn01063/. His E-mail address is rehmeyer@ufl.edu. (Picture: Eric during preparation for band performance in football district finals game in December 1996.)
E-mail the Big Red Band: bigredband@fcmail.com.