It’s been more than 20 years since Frank Wickes and Linda Moorhouse were members of the UF Gator band, but they returned to their old stomping grounds as honored guests Thursday night.
Wickes and Moorhouse were inducted into the UF Band Hall of Fame and took turns guest conducting during the celebratory concert in the University Auditorium.
“They made a large contribution to the band while they were here,” said David Waybright, UF director of bands, “and they’ve gone on to do great things elsewhere. They’re definitely worthy of the Hall of Fame.”
Wickes, who recently retired as director of bands at Louisiana State University, served as the UF director from 1973 to 1979.
He said playing in the University Auditorium was a special opportunity for him because of his UF roots.
“For me it’s wonderful, it’s great,” he said. “My first job was at this auditorium. All my concerts were given there.”
Wickes was named Teacher of the Year in the College of Fine Arts in 1976, and it was in his final year at UF that he met his fellow honoree, Moorhouse, when she was just an undergraduate student.
“It’s a pretty special connection for us because she was my student here for one year,” he said.
Moorhouse, who also taught music at Louisiana State University for 25 years, is now an instructor at the University of Illinois. She came to Wickes’ band as a highly regarded student of a close friend and soon made herself noticed.
Wickes remembered how, when Moorhouse was just a freshman, the band was having difficulty leading the flag core. He took a chance and the advice of his friend who said if it was results he wanted, it was Moorhouse he needed.
“I was leery to put a freshman in charge,” Wickes said, “but she took control over a couple of weeks and really made everything work.”
Moorhouse continued to serve as color guard captain until she graduated with honors from UF with a bachelor’s degree in music education. She went on to get her master’s in music education from LSU and her doctoral degree in instrumental conducting from the University of Washington.
Both said a lot has changed since they were in the band.
In their time, the school of music was only a department, and the band was half the size it is now.
They said the school now gets a lot more support from Student Government and the University Athletic Association
“That’s what you want to see when you graduate from a school,” Moorhouse said. “You want to come back and see it bigger and better.”
They both said coming to play with the new generation of Gators made them and the students proud.
“It gives the kids … a sense of their history,” Wickes said, “and a legacy that they’re now a part of.”
