The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) marching band spent the morning at the Upper School rehearsing on Davis Field and Rosenthal Field for its upcoming football game against Stanford.

Harker students walked out of their classes to find a college marching band using their field as a rehearsal stage.

“Since we are an away band, we needed a place to practice before the game at Stanford this weekend,” said Mathew Bisk, a sophomore studying music education at UCLA.

The band’s director, Gordon Henderson, contacted the Upper School Director of Instrumental Music, Christopher Florio, last week to set up the rehearsal. The administration also allowed the UCLA band to rehearse at the Upper School three years ago.

Florio is a former member and assistant conductor of the UCLA marching band and cites a Rose Bowl performance as a highlight of his drum line career.

Many students made the trip to Rosenthal Field to watch more than 200 band members perform.

“It’s definitely worth seeing it,” said junior Savi Joshi, whose brother attends USC. “But I don’t think my brother would approve of me, hanging out with the enemy. I do have a shirt that says “Don’t Bruin Yourself.”

Although the band was creating a lot of noise during the morning, many teachers did not mind this distraction.

“Our windows are permanently closed so I could hear the noise faintly but it did not bother me,” Biology teacher Dr. Blickenstaff said.

In fact, some teachers used class time to take students to the practice.

“In class the noise was a distraction, but my teacher realized that nobody was getting any work done so we came out and watched it,” Anna Levine (12) said.

UCLA’s football team has had several competitive games with Stanford’s team, and fans are already making predictions about the results of this weekend’s game.

The Bruins will be playing against the Cardinals tomorrow.