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Garret Coscolluela playing instrument in stadium

Garrett Coscolluela

“I’m thankful to have spent two years with the Governors’ Own Marching Band and to have been a part of the most visible extension of Austin Peay’s Department of Music.”
Major: Double major: Music Education, Music Performance
Hometown: Hendersonville, Tennessee
Involvement: Governor's Own Marching Band

For the past four years, senior music education and music performance double major Garrett Coscolluela has spent one weekend each August marching on the field of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. But it wasn’t until August 2017 — in his final trip to the Hoosier State — that Coscolluela had the hardware to prove he was among the best in what’s considered the major leagues of marching band performance.

GOMB members pose for selfie during Battle of the Border home game
The Governor's Own Marching Band performs at all Governor's home football games.

Coscolluela captured a team gold medal in front of 23,342 onlookers in his first — and only — season as a member of the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, considered one of the premier competitive junior drum and bugle corps in the country. That opportunity was made possible, in-part, because of training he received at Austin Peay’s Department of Music and the experience he gained as a member of the University’s Governors’ Own Marching Band (GOMB).

Coscolluela plans to pursue a career in music education upon graduation, and he is already putting the skills learned at Austin Peay and as a member of the GOMB to good use, spending his spare time working with students in a local high school marching band.

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“I’m thankful to have spent two years with GOMB and to have been a part of the most visible extension of Austin Peay’s Department of Music,” Coscolluela said. “The band balances having fun and doing its job well, and I credit the way (Austin Peay director of athletic bands) John Schnettler structured its operations.

"He allows GOMB members and student leadership to be in control of their own experience and enjoy band in a different, more relaxed way than many have experienced during high school.”