Music Man
Conductor of JMU's award-winning marching band, Dr. Pat Rooney marches to the beat of his own drum.
Story by Erin Hill
Photography by Casey Templeton and Paul Riley
The blaring sound of jazz music bounces off the gray cement walls down the hall from Dr. Pat Rooney’s office. Trumpet and clarinet players tune up, and groups of students chat in corners. In his office, Rooney sits comfortably in an oversized chair with his feet propped up on a round wooden coffee table. Framed pictures of Marching Royal Dukes band members dressed in purple and gold uniforms, framed awards and published articles surround him. There is even a small photo of Rooney and his wife Glenda at a football game with a smiling Duke Dog between them.
A conductor’s stand rests near a beautiful, black upright piano that has sheet music strewn across its shiny bench. CDs of marching band recordings, wind ensembles and classical music line the rack next to his stereo.
Dr. Pat Rooney has been JMU’s Marching Royal Dukes band director for the past 23 years. Announced at halftime shows as “Virginia’s Finest,” the 325-piece marching band is truly deserving of the title. Under Rooney’s conducting, the MRD have received worldwide recognition.
Surrounded by elements of his success, Rooney leans back in his chair and recalls how he got to where he is today. Rooney’s father was a high-school band director, and he played clarinet in his father’s band.
“My father was an excellent trumpet player,” Rooney says. “He was also a very rigorous band director,” he continues as he pounds his fist on the chair for effect, “but he was most of all a kind man.”
After enrolling in the University of Southern Mississippi, Rooney’s strong background in music took the forefront.
“I didn’t know what to do when I got there,” he says with a faint Southern drawl. “I just knew music.”
In 1964, after his second year at USM, Rooney left school to travel the country as a saxophone player for the Russ Carlyle Orchestra. With support and encouragement from his parents, he was able to gain the life experience he needed before returning to finish his degree.
“That was one of the best times of my life,” Rooney says. “I was on the road during one of the most important years in this country. I was seeing rock ‘n’ roll, as it is known today, happen.”
During the ’60s, the Russ Carlyle Orchestra played at exclusive nightclubs and ballrooms across the country. They often were broadcast on national radio.
“I remember one time we played at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City and halved the program with Chubby Checker,” he says. “Those few months really made me grow up and become professional. I came back to school with a new outlook and ready to go.”
After graduation, Rooney took yet another risk when he asked Glenda to marry him. A sweet smile plays across his face before he speaks.
“We first met when I was a senior in high school and she was a sophomore,” Rooney says. “My best friend happened to be her cousin, and he set us up on a blind date. We dated off and on throughout our college careers, going to different schools. It wasn’t until she came to see my band perform during the winter break of her senior year that we really began to date seriously. We saw one another throughout the break and I asked her to marry me by the end of it. I told myself, ‘She’s too good-looking to give up!’ ”
The Rooneys moved to Texas, and Rooney received his Masters of Music Education from the University of North Texas and began to teach band at a junior high school. During that time the couple had two sons, Sean and Jason.
Rooney was soon called for an interview for a band director position at East Central Oklahoma University.
“The people from ECU were suspicious of me working as a band director for a university since I taught at a junior high,” Rooney says. “But after they heard my class play, they offered me a job right there on the spot.”
Rooney learned the ropes of band directing from the small program.
“That was the greatest thing for me,” Rooney says. “I learned everything from the grassroots up. It was like student teaching, and I could make mistakes and grow.”
While Rooney was directing the band, Glenda was busy making a name for herself as the director of alumni and career services. In addition to her position with the university, she became involved with her husband’s band when she took on the role of leading the color guard.
“Pat came to me and basically said, ‘Glenda, you’re going to do color guard.’ I knew nothing about it; I basically learned from scratch.”
Rooney gushes, “She became nationally known through her guard clinics. She went all over the country leading these clinics and showing students how to become color guards. She was known as ‘Ms. Guard.’ ”
Although Glenda doesn’t work with the MRD, she has an active role with its members.
“I’m still very close to the band,” Glenda says. “They call me the unofficial guard mom. I’m a people person and have always enjoyed students. Working with college and high-school students is wonderful; that’s the breath of life.”
While some couples may find working together difficult, Pat and Glenda take full advantage of working so close to each other.
“I think that it’s nice for the students we work with to have a successful couple as a role model, to see us work so well together,” Glenda says. “It’s rare to find that today. Anytime you support each other, it only makes the other much stronger.”
Even with their busy schedules and involvements in the community, the Rooneys always find time to mix work and pleasure.
“Since we both work on the Quad, Pat will sometimes come over and bring me coffee or we’ll go for walks,” Glenda says. “We work out together at the gym and do Tae Bo. We’re each other’s best friends.”
During their summers at ECU, the family would go to Disney World where Rooney directed the All-American Band, a group of 20 college band students from all over the country chosen to play at Disney World for the summer.
In 1982, Mike Davis left JMU as band director and spoke to Rooney about replacing him.
“I was a little hesitant at first about taking the job because I was interested in working with a larger school,” Rooney says. “But there were a lot of intriguing things about JMU. You could just tell this was going to be a happening place. We came here and the bigger school ended up coming to us.”
Anthony M. Falcone, associate director of bands at the University of Nebraska, says, “I was in the band when Dr. Rooney came to JMU in 1982. At that time we had a pretty good college band program. Since then it has grown to become an outstanding program, which is nationally respected in all facets. People all over the country know about JMU bands, and it’s because of Pat Rooney.”
In addition to directing the MRD, Rooney teaches several music classes. One of those is Symphonic Band. In room 108 of the music building the sounds of flutes, clarinets, saxophones, xylophones and marimbas travel through the halls. Rows of students noisily tune their instruments and quickly practice before class begins. As soon as Rooney steps onto the small stand, the room quiets. With a wave of his hand the room begins to play in time to the day’s selection. A slim man, with his glasses resting on the tip of his nose, Rooney is a giant as he conducts. His hands glide gently through the air, flawlessly directing the crowded room. His soft voice and movements create a strong bellow from the students’ instruments as the sound resonates throughout the room. He stops the music suddenly as his perfected ear detects a flaw.
“Is that the most beautiful sound you can make?” Rooney gently asks a trumpet player.
“No,” replies the student.
“Then do it again,” he says with a smile.
This is the way Rooney conducts his class — with a gentle yet focused sense of determination.
Rooney steps down from his stand and walks into the sea of instruments, paying individual attention to each student.
“It’s obvious that Dr. Rooney enjoys his job, and he’s a very enthusiastic conductor who brings a lot out of his players,” says Laurie Grim, a freshman percussionist.
According to Rooney, his biggest legacy to JMU is his former students who have gone on to become great band directors.
Former student and high school band director Jenny Ryan says, “He is very inspirational. I often laugh to myself when I find myself doing a ‘Rooneyism’ conducting gesture or using words like ‘dim’ and ‘zot’ to show how a note or notes should sound.”
William Pease, director of bands from the University of Virginia says, “If you ask anyone about music at JMU, usually their first response is, ‘Wow, they have a great marching band.’ ”
“I could have gone to any grad school in the country to study conducting and I chose JMU because of Dr. Rooney,” he continues. “I wanted to see what it took to create a first-class marching band, concert band and become a better band conductor. I want the Virginia band to someday have the reputation of quality and excellence that the Marching Royal Dukes have earned.”
Falcone adds, “Often in my career when faced with difficult situations I’ve tried to act in a way that I thought Dr. Rooney would have. In my years as a student and teacher in Harrisonburg, there was a concept everyone knew called the ‘JMU Way.’ It was an attitude that we all took great pride in. I knew from the first time I set foot on that campus that it was a special place. Nobody I know exemplifies this attitude better than Dr. Pat Rooney.”
The MRD are a fixture at JMU football games, and a strong relationship has formed over the years between Rooney and Coach Mickey Matthews.
“The focus of the football program is for our players to have an enjoyable experience as college players, and I believe Dr. Rooney conducts his program in the same way,” Matthews says. “He wants his students to enjoy marching in the band. The enthusiasm they bring to the game is contagious on a Saturday afternoon. I have always been so impressed with good band directors and they are good role models for me. It’s impressive how they plan and organize practices and games for 300-400 players.”
“I’m probably an unusual football coach because I really enjoy watching the band practices,” Matthews adds.
As the season came to a close, the sound of the band resonated through the stadium. At the forefront was Rooney, with a balance of humor and resolve, conducting the group of individuals that composed his accomplished ensemble.
“For the band, the end of last season was much more enjoyable than it ever has been,” Rooney says. “The football team winning the national championship title was great closure to a sweet season. It was one of those storybook years.”