From sea to shining sea and beyond, from the Old Guard to the newly-minted class of 1999, from tubas to oboes and twirlers to Horse's Asses, the membership roster of the BAA represents the marvelous diversity of Penn Band alumni.

At present there are more than 1,000 names in our database: a good start, but nowhere near the estimated 3,000 Band alums who are still alive and kicking (sideways). Here's what we've learned about Penn Band alumni so far.

The range of graduating years represented on our list stands at 72, from the Class of 1927 to the Class of 1999. 1995 is the most populous year with 64; 1986 has moved into sole possession of second place with 44; and 1991 is a close third at 43. Other honorable mentions go to: 1993: 41, 1994: 40, 1992: 38, 1988: 36, 1973 and 1974: 35 each, 1990: 33, and 1989: 32.

401 known Band alumni graduated from the College, 206 from Wharton, and 110 from Enginering, with the remainder made up by the other schools, such as nursing.

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We have members who live in 44 states. The leaders are Pennsylvania with 212, New York with 138, and new Jersey with 115.

There are 70 people listed as Philadelphia residents, 62 from New York, and 10 each from Washington DC, Chicago, Boston, and Wynnewood, PA.

While most of those listed in our database hail from the US, we also have members in Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Spain, Singapore, Pakistan, Guatemala, and England.

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Our list contains 130 Fanfare members, 68 section leaders, 16 Presidents, 15 Drum Majors, 13 Vice Presidents, 12 Treasurers, 12 Student Conductors, 10 Secretaries, 7 PGA Directors, 6 Managers, 6 Travel Managers, 6 Voices, 5 Equipment Managers, 4 Librarians, and 3 Horse's Asses.

We also have two of each of the following: Fundraising Manager, Freshman of the Year, Fanfare Vice-Chair, Fanfare Chair, and Music Manager. Finally, we have an Archivist, an Editor of the Band Newsletter, a Quaker, and a Chairman. (Chairman of what was not specified.)

As for instruments played, members break down into 55 Clarinets, 40 Chops, 39 Flutes, 34 Percussionists, 31 Saxophones, 24 Trombones, 15 Tubas, 15 French Horns, 4 Baritone Horns, an Oboe player, and a baton twirler.

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So how did we find all these people? First, we went to Weightman. If you donated money to the Band Fund during 1990-1995, that's probably where we found you.

That was the easy part. The rest of our list came from people like you (not to mention liner notes of old Band albums, sign-in sheets from various Band events over the past few years, and the goldmine of attendance records maintained by mid-'80s secretary extraordinaire Naomi Grabel C'86).

But most heartening of all have been the referrals. Judy Levenstein W'79, Sam Lange W'49, Porter Carlson E'49, and Naomi Grabel C'86 each referred four people; James Swartz L'54 and Annette Pierce C'89 came up with three new names each.

How about you? Do you know of any Band alums we may have missed? Let us know! With the help of every BAA member, perhaps our earlier goal of world domination may not be completely beyond our grasp after all.

And if you're a Band alum who's not already a member of the BAA, join us today!