Greendale High School band fills in for Yale band at March Madness

By: CBS 58 Newsroom

Posted: Mar 19, 2022 4:10 PM CDT

GREENDALE (CBS 58) -- March Madness is also giving a local high school band quite the opportunity.

Greendale High School band stood in for Yale's band during its game against Purdue on March 18.

The student musicians got the call from Yale after its band couldn't make the trip from Connecticut.

Yale administrators reached out March 14, giving the Greendale band just a few days to prepare.

But the band's director says his students were ready.

"Yeah, they were pretty pumped. They're like "we get to be Yale? they're going to think we're Yale?" It's just a unique thing. It's obviously not in Milwaukee every year so to be able to do it was pretty cool," said Tom Reifenberg, the school's band director.

This isn't the first time Glendale has been in the national spotlight.

The band has played in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and the Rose Bowl parade.

Yale lost to the Boilermakers 78-56.

But still, a memory these high school students will never forget.