Susan Bingham: A Passion for music.

By Jake Lankford

On a cool, Friday afternoon, I sat down with the administrative associate of the University of Memphis marching band, Susan Rhea Bingham, for a simple interview. The office she works in is bathed in a warm lamplight and we are sitting across from each other, like a news anchor sitting across from their interview subject, the lamplight serving as the spotlight for one person: Susan Bingham, someone who carries a lot of passion for both the art of music, the University of Memphis and the band she works for.

“I have been here off and on in various capacities.” Bingham was hired for the position in April 2021.

As the marching band’s administrative associate, Bingham’s job is to assist the band administrators, help the band members and answer questions anyone may have about the band. Bingham was hired for the position in April 2021, making it ten months as of February 2022, but has always been involved with working for the school.

“Before this, I worked with women’s basketball for two years and five months, before that, I worked at Rhodes College for a year and five months and before that, I was at the University of Memphis Campus School, five and a half years part time. I’ve been here off and on in various capacities,” Bingham said.

Bingham is extremely familiar with the University of Memphis, having also attended the campus elementary school and high school, but there is something else that has played a huge part in her life: music and the marching band.

“I’ve been involved with music my whole life. My mother was a piano teacher, so music was always in our home and she taught piano lessons out of our home.” Bingham also took piano lessons from her mother for ten years, was taught under the Orff* method of music education at the campus elementary school, was in the band at the campus high school and yes, she was in the U of M marching band as well.

Bingham spent four years in the marching band, 1987-1990, and in that time, she did a lot, taking a very active role in the band.

“I was in the marching band, pep band for basketball and I was in the wind ensemble. I was also section leader for the front ensemble, the melodic percussive instruments: xylophone, marimba and bells.” After college, Bingham and her husband served on the band alumni board of directors for, in her words, “a few years.” Currently, Bingham’s two children are band members, both members of the drumline, ensuring a close connection with the band and music in general.

Speaking of music, it always played a huge part in Bingham’s life, from the early days of taking piano lessons to her current position with the band, music is one of her biggest passions. One of her earliest memories was going with her parents to U of M football games and being entranced by the marching band. Another early memory was watching the band in a more intimate and raw form: watching the band practice.

For the marching band, practice is an intense, fast-paced and grueling experience. Students stand in the blazing sun or freezing cold for hours on end, just to perfect the show that will be presented for thousands of people on game day and other performances, and for young Bingham, seeing the band in such a raw, personal and vulnerable setting and later seeing the results of that practice at the football games was what inspired her to join the band.

“I have memories from being a young girl of wanting to be in the marching band. I used to watch the band and after school, I’d go watch the band practice in the afternoons,” Bingham describes.

Other musical episodes Bingham shares include always hearing music in her home from her mother’s piano lessons, hearing music in church every Sunday and the *Orff music class at the campus elementary school. All of these, she describes, were what drew her to the world of music.

An intimate, storied relationship with music, a history with the University of Memphis and a passion for both, that is Susan Bingham. Her current position helping the band is a result of the love she has for both the band and the University of Memphis, a passion that continues in her two children. A portrait forms of someone who loves and is passionate about the art of music, a passion that can be seen in her job and her willingness to help the many members of the marching band.

*(Note: The Orff Approach is a method of music education that emphasizes rhythm and interacting with music, such as snapping, clapping and patting along. This creates a close relationship with music when the method is done right.)