PEP BAND
The Elon University Pep Band is an integral part of game day festivities and excitement on campus, performing at all Elon men and women home basketball events.
Membership is by audition each season. Auditions are held each November and are open to all Elon University students with band experience (woodwinds, brass, bass guitar, and drumset). Most members come from the marching band membership.
We invite you to learn more about the Elon University Pep Band by browsing this website where you will find pictures and sound files, along with plenty of information about the band program. If you have any questions about our program please don't hesitate to contact Mr. Sawyer at (336)278-5700 or tsawyer@elon.edu.
DIRECTOR
Tony Sawyer is Director of Bands at Elon University. Prior to his appointment at Elon he was the Assistant Director of Bands and Percussion Instructor at the University of West Georgia from 1999-2003. He also taught percussion at Clayton State University near Atlanta from 1998-1999. In 1993, Mr. Sawyer received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Kennesaw State University in Marietta, Georgia, and in 1995 he earned the Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from Northern Arizona University. While at Northern Arizona he served as the graduate teaching assistant for the NAU bands and percussion studio.
He has performed in Arizona with the Flagstaff Symphony and Flagstaff Festival of the Arts Orchestra, in Georgia with the Macon Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Cobb Symphony, Rialto Orchestra, the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, and in North Carolina with the Elon Chamber Orchestra and the Durham Choral Society. Mr. Sawyer was a member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps where he was a bass line member (1981) and a member of the snare line (1982-1985). He also served as the front ensemble (pit) arranger and instructor for the Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps in 1993. Mr. Sawyer has served as arranger and instructor for high school and college marching percussion sections across the country for over 25 years.
As a freelance orchestral percussionist and jazz and pop drum set artist, Mr. Sawyer has performed throughout the southeast and recorded with local artists and for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Mr. Sawyer is also active in the music education community through private teaching, consulting, performing, and clinic-services for public and private schools. He maintains an active schedule adjudicating for marching and concert events throughout the United States. He is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, Pi Kappa Lambda (national music honors society), the College Music Society, the Percussive Arts Society, and the College Band Directors National Association.
