By Karen Grava

Director of Media Relations

Jason L. DeGroff, director of bands at UNH, has been inducted into the Band Hall of Fame at the University of Massachusetts.

DeGroff was nominated by UMass band alumni for the honor.

“It was obvious that he deserved the honor,” said Timothy Todd Anderson of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band. He said the Minuteman Band Alumni Association instituted the Hall of Fame in 1993 to honor “those people who have made extraordinary contributions to the band’s development.”

DeGroff, only the eighth person to enter the Hall of Fame, has been the visual designer of the Minuteman Marching Band for many years. He began writing for the band while still a UMass student. He created the drill design used by the band for more than a decade.

DeGroff was honored last month at the UMass Multibands Pops Concert and presented with a plaque.

DeGroff came to UNH nearly four years ago to help build the band, which began with the return of football. When he started, the band had about only 20 members. After one year, that number tripled, and it has since ballooned to more than 100.

“The band is a melting pot of all different students, backgrounds and majors,” says DeGroff. “No matter what they are studying, students can continue their love of music.”

The band regularly plays the new fight song unveiled last year by the athletics department. The selection was written by Albert Celotto, assistant professor of music at UNH, and the band arrangement to accompany the piece was composed by DeGroff.