Past Projects Crowdfunding

Here are some more photos from our 50th Anniversary Gala held on May 30, 2026.

Thanks again to everyone who helped us have this wonderful celebration!

Hi, Everyone!

On Saturday evening, May 30, 2026, over 135 people gathered at the Luskin Conference Center on campus to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the UCLA Alumni Band. We had about a dozen of our founding members in attendance, along with many current band members and several campus dignitaries. Our two 2025 Alumni Band True Bruin Senior Scholarship recipients (current members of the UCLA were also in attendance.

We were presented a special certificate of commendation by Interim Associate Vice Chancellor Yolanda Gorman and Senior Director Karen McClain on behalf of the UCLA Alumni Association. In addition to remarks from Dr. Gorman, we also heard from BJ Das, the Associate Head Coach of UCLA Gymnastics, former Senior Associate Athletic Director Scott Mitchell, and Executive Director of Development for the Herb Alpert School of Music, Amanda Court.

We also were treated to reminiscences from Bonnie Sawyer, the former staff member at UCLA Athletics who was responsible for all of the outreach in 1976 to form the Alumni Band, from Bill Masonheimer, our Inaugural Music Director, and from longtime early Alumni Band President Ellis “Pat” Patterson.

We were also pleased to play videos of congratulations received from the current Director of Athletic Bands at UCLA, Justin McManus, the former Head Coach of UCLA Gymnastics, Valorie Kondos Field, from the current Head Coach of UCLA Men’s Volleyball, John Hawks, from the current Head Coach of UCLA Softball, Kelly Inouye-Perez, from the current Head Coach of UCLA Women’s Basketball, Cori Close, from the current UCLA Gymnastics team, and from the longtime early Alumni Band Music Director, Vic Guder.

The evening, which was emceed by Alumni Band Chair Mike McDonald, Alumni Band President/Music Director Joel Fierberg, and Gala Committee Co-Chair Joan Wiener, kicked off with a rousing 8-Clap led by former Alumni Cheerleader Geof Strand, and concluded with the entire crowd singing a heartfelt rendition of “Hail to the Hills of Westwood.”

To all 120 of you who generously donated to our crowdfunding campaign (which raised over $31,000), we can’t thank you enough for your assistance in allowing us to host this special evening of celebration for Alumni Band members and guests. It was a truly magical evening and we’re looking forward to our next 50 years of providing spirit and serving the UCLA community.

Go Bruins!

For the final day of our campaign, Karen and Joel Fierberg have generously gifted their full $5,000 to match your donations, bringing even more support to the UCLA Alumni Band!

Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared, and championed the band. Your generosity and Bruin spirit have made this incredible gift possible. We've surpassed our $30K goal and raised a total of $30,592 from 112 supporters!

There are still 7 hours left before the campaign ends. Please share the campaign with your friends and family to keep the momentum going!

https://crowdfunding.ucla.edu/alumniband

Thank you for your amazing support!

— UCLA Alumni Band

We’re in the final week of the Alumni Band campaign, and we have one more exciting challenge to help us finish strong. Karen and Joel Fierberg have generously stepped forward with a $5,000 matching gift!

For the next $5,000 raised this week, Karen and Joel will match it dollar-for-dollar, effectively doubling your impact!

We have only 7 days left to reach our $30,000 goal before the campaign closes. Every gift, no matter the size, will help us unlock this incredible opportunity.

Join us and continue spreading the word. Let’s make the most of this final week together!

https://crowdfunding.ucla.edu/alumniband

Thank you for your support and Bruin spirit!

— UCLA Alumni Band

Thanks to the incredible show of support over the past week, Geof Strand was truly inspired and has generously decided to unlock his full $10,000 gift to our campaign!

Together, we’ve raised $21,427 from 74 donors so far. Thank you for showing up and making such a major impact!

Please help us finish the second half of our campaign strong and continue sharing the campaign with your friends and family. 

https://crowdfunding.ucla.edu/alumniband

Thank you for your incredible support!

- UCLA Alumni Band

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Alumni Band campaign! In just the first week, we've raised $6,519 from 41 generous donors!

We now have some exciting news to announce! Geof Strand has stepped up with a matching challenge: he will double the next $5,000 we raise, bringing an additional $5,000 to the campaign.

But there's more! If you help us bring in $5,000 in the next week, Geof will contribute a bonus gift of $5,000, bringing the total gift to $10,000! Getting us to $11,519 by midnight of September 24 will unlock Geof's full $10K gift!

No gift is too small. Every dollar counts in unlocking the match! Please continue spreading the word by sharing our campaign link with friends, family, and fellow Bruins.

https://crowdfunding.ucla.edu/alumniband

Thank you again for your amazing support. Go Bruins!

- UCLA Alumni Band