Marching In A New Direction

With fall underway, Youngstown State University will be marching in a new direction. Leading that new direction is new Marching Pride director Donn Linn, who said the upcoming season will be "both
interesting and challenging."A 2005 graduate of Virginia Tech University in music education, Linn brings a lot of experience to the band. After working as a teacher's assistant and band director for various schools including Ball State University in Indiana, Linn was connected to YSU's music program and offered the job.

"I'm very excited to be here," Linn said.
Linn has been busy, even before the start of fall semester. The week before the fall semester commenced, the band practiced from dawn to dusk to perfect their sound.

"It's going to be a challenging year," Linn said about his new position. Still, Linn said he is nevertheless proud of his students and their dedication.

"I'm very impressed with the band," Linn said. "Everyone is excited about the new year."

Linn also said he has been especially impressed with the student leadership.
"[The leaders] have a higher lever of responsibility [and] they have been fantastic with the students," he said. "They have a lot of dedication."

The students have also been excited about their new director. Chris Cargill, junior and Pride member said he was impressed by Linn's youthfulness.

"He's a cool guy," Cargill said.

Freshman Aaron Brown said he admired the director's ambition.

"He's very determined," Brown said. "I respect his wisdom and his dedication to the band."

Linn said he hoped to follow the tradition that the Marching Pride has established, while adding some new flavor to the mix.

"Of course, the purpose of a marching band is to pep the crowd up," Linn said. "But we can also put on a pretty good show, too."

As for goals, Linn said he wanted to "establish a definition for the word 'pride'" with the band.

"This band has always been about building great traditions," Linn said. "I want to make sure we let pride extend to the university, to the entire community at that.