The Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band announced it will perform exclusively on Yamaha percussion instruments as part of an agreement with the world’s largest manufacturer of musical instruments. As part of the partnership, Yamaha will also provide teaching instruments to music education students.

Yamaha equipped the 220-member Bulldog Marching Band with 9300 Series snare drums, 8300 Series multi-toms and bass drums and a full complement of Multi-Frame II mallet percussion instruments.

Steve McKeithen, Fresno State’s associate director of bands, said the agreement also includes about $250,000 per year in instruments provided for student use, negating University expenditures and repair costs.

“Students benefit from this relationship in a variety of ways, but primarily from the ability to learn with and perform on the very best percussion instruments on the market. We have a goal to look and sound as professional as we can,” McKeithen said.

Yamaha cited the Bulldog Marching Band’s many accomplishments over the years as a primary reason for the partnership. The band’s history details many milestones, including a performance at a San Diego Chargers football game in 2015 and the Oakland Raiders halftime show in 2016, as well as at the prelims and finals of the Western Band Association championships hosted at Bulldog Stadium. The band was selected as an Ensemble of Excellence in 2017 by the College Band Directors National Association, one of eight marching bands in the country to receive that honor.

The Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band“The Bulldog Marching Band inspires all of us as we craft and innovate the world’s finest marching percussion products,” said Troy Wollwage, marketing manager for Yamaha Percussion. “Yamaha is honored to be a part of this extraordinary group of young professionals, and we look forward to their continued success.”

The Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band is an NCAA Division-I college marching band in the Mountain West Conference that performs at all Fresno State home football games and various other events on campus and in the community. The group prides itself in diversity as the largest student organization on campus. Besides games, the Bulldog Marching Band hosts high school marching band events such as the Sierra Cup Classic.

Its next performance will be at Fresno State’s football game against Wyoming at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, at Bulldog Stadium. For tickets, visit www.gobulldogs.com.