ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — The University of Michigan Marching Band is preparing for what its director calls a once-in-a-lifetime performance — a halftime show featuring world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and music from "The Lord of the Rings."
The performance is set for this Saturday during the Iowa-Michigan game at Michigan Stadium, known as the Big House. It is a collaboration between the marching band, Yo-Yo Ma, and "The Lord of the Rings" composer Howard Shore. Director Dr. John Pasquale said it took three years of planning to make it happen.
WATCH THE STORY BY 7 NEWS DETROIT'S TONY GEFTOS BELOW:
"We are one of the only ensembles ever to be able to kind of do this," Pasquale said.
Yo-Yo Ma recently performed during the 9/11 Memorial Ceremony in New York before heading to Ann Arbor for this collaboration.
"I could not be happier and more excited to share the musical gifts that he brings to the world, one — to our students, but also to the biggest football stadium in the world, and it's just, it's, it's such an exciting thing," Pasquale said.
Assistant Director of Bands Dr. Richard Frey said the week has been significant for the program.
"To know that Yo Yo Ma is going to be on campus working with our students this week, it's a banner week for the program," Frey said.
Due to copyright restrictions, the music could not be previewed ahead of the performance. Frey described what audiences can expect.
"We start with music from the prologue and we work our way through, um, a three-hour movie in about six minutes, so," Frey said.
Band members said the opportunity has generated excitement across the ensemble.
"This is the coolest show ever," senior tuba player Carl Pate said.
"Yo Yo Ma, world famous. Everyone knows and loves him," freshman alto saxophone player Cameron Ballard said.
Senior alto saxophone player Alex Otlacan said the experience is unlike anything he has encountered in the program.
"I don't think we've played with anybody, like a special guest like this before, at least I haven't, and I'm super excited. I get to share the field with some great musicians," Otlacan said.
Sophomore horn player Grant Leto said the moment puts the scale of the opportunity in perspective.
"We're just regular people at the end of the day, and we get this opportunity to play with like, a legend of the classical music industry," Leto said.
Freshman trumpet player Jolina Steury said she is looking forward to the experience.
"Yeah, I'm about to be best friends with Yo Yo Ma, so that's gonna be really awesome. I'm really looking forward to that," Steury said.
Senior euphonium player Preston Lottie recalled first learning who Yo-Yo Ma was.
"When I was in pre-Calc in high school and my teacher was like, 'Do you know who Yo Yo Ma is?' And she's like, 'He plays the cello.' So that's the first thing I thought. And then I got really excited," Lottie said.
Senior flag performer Arin Miller said the halftime show brings together every element of what the band does.
"We time everything with our flags accordingly to what goes on musically on the field, and it's just a really great opportunity to represent what the band does through movement and color," Miller said.
Sophomore piccolo player Lulu Kanda said the performance raises the band's profile on a global scale.
"This Michigan Marching Band is like, really famous, and now we can know that it's worldwide famous, and I'm so excited," Kanda said.
For those without tickets to Saturday's game, the Michigan Marching Band will post the performance for free on YouTube.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
