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Revised Entrance #3
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Revised Entrance #3, the pregame opener and calling card of the Marching Illini, combines an opening fanfare with a march version
of the Illinois state song "By Thy Rivers Gently Flowing." Entrance #3 has not always been "revised," however, and its story is similar
to many of the other traditional Illinois songs.
From the beginnings of the Marching Illini through the Kisinger years, at least five different entrances were used at the beginning of each pregame
show on a rotating basis. Each entrance, while based on a more familiar march, was typically arranged with an opening fanfare and modified to fit the
pregame drill on the field. The pieces has no titles per se, but were simply known as Entrance #1, Entrance #2, etc. Entrance #1 was based on Alford's
"Glory of the Gridiron" march. Entrance #3 debuted in 1949, taking its roots from the "Governor's March" by Hand. By the late 1950s,
Entrance #3 became the favorite entrance and the other entrances fell into disuse. Unfortunately, only Entrances #1 and #3 were ever recorded by the
First Regimental Band; recordings of the others are not known to exist.
In 1972, it became clear that the original Entrance #3 did not fit the style and instrumentation of the times. Thus, Entrance #3 was "Revised" in order to
provide an "updated setting designed to satisfy a desire for modernization of musical style," according to the album cover of the Sounds of the Illini LP
released in the mid-70s. (This LP is still available for purchase from UIBands.) Most notably, the few bars of "Hail to The Orange"
often inserted towards the end of Entrance #3 were forever removed from the song.
The present incarnation of Revised Entrance #3 was arranged by Mr. James Curnow, and is preceded by the run-on in the opening of the modern pregame show.
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