If you are looking for someone who is passionate about the bands of Shippensburg University, take a trip to the second floor of the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center where you will find director of bands Trever Famulare, who completed his 200th performance with the Red Raider marching band last month.

His office is the one buzzing with students, who often tell Famulare that he needs more chairs to accommodate his many visitors. Famulare believes it is the students, who he refers to as his second family, who are responsible for the band’s quality performances.

“I revel in the fact that the students are the main reason why I get excited to come to work and go to practice. They’re the ones who make this happen,” Famulare said.

Famulare has worked for the university for seventeen years. In addition to being the director of the bands, he is the music and theater arts department chair  and an assistant professor. He teaches an intro to music class in the fall and a basic conducting or brass techniques class each spring. 

He received his bachelor’s degree for music education from the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York, and his master’s in music education from Syracuse University, but Famulare admits he has loved singing and playing instruments since he was a child. 

 “Ever since I was in fifth grade, all the way through high school I was singing and playing,” said Famulare. Toward the end of high school, Famulare’s parents posed him the ultimate question:, “What are you going to do with your life?”

“I just kind of sat quiet for a while and thought, okay what am I good at? Everything pushed back to music, music, music,” said Famulare. He said that if he were going to college, he needed to do something he would always enjoy.

“It was music all the way,” he said with a thoughtful expression.  

In graduate school, while he was also teaching high school, Famulare was approached by one of his professors who was director of the marching band. The professor told him that he was in need of someone with Famulare’s knowledge and skills to join the staff for the Syracuse Marching band, an offer Famulare accepted.  

“I sort of got that feeling, that taste in my mouth,” Famulare said, “I thought, hmm, this might be something I eventually want to do.” That is when he began searching for a job in higher education. 

During his search, a job opportunity with Shippensburg University popped up for director of the bands. It did not require a doctorate, so Famulare applied and was brought in for an interview with former SU  President Anthony Ceddia.  

He immediately fell in love with the university, but there was a one problem with the job, it was just a one a year position. 

Famulare was unable to take the temporary position, but he reminded the music and theater department chair in a phone call that he loved the university’s values and would reapply for the permanent position the following year.

“I reapplied, reviewed and went through the whole process again and here I am 17 years later,” Famulare said, eyes bright. 

“We have a work-hard, play-hard philosophy and we don’t want to be mediocre,” Famulare said of the Red Raiders marching band. “We want to be innovative and we want to be able to showcase ourselves not just at a mediocre level, we want to be on the high-end and we want to be producing a show that is innovative and challenging.” 

The marching band will showcase their high-end skills next winter break when they travel to perform in the Rome New Year’s day parade.  The raiders will march to the Vatican, where the Pope will give his new tear blessing. 

“It’s a special thing to be able to come together and do this. Ultimately what it comes down to it’s a second family for me,” said Famulare. 

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