Trio of American Fork sisters savoring semester together on BYU marching band
“It’s a dream come true!”
With one line, said simultaneously before erupting in laughter, the Rogers sisters conveyed entirely how they have felt about this fall semester. The trio are all students at Brigham Young University and all three are in the school’s marching band. Emily Rogers, the eldest sister, is a junior drum major. Sarah Rogers is a sophomore French horn player and Megan Rogers, also a sophomore, plays the saxophone.
It wasn’t a guarantee that the three would be able to play together at BYU, but they made it work.
Sarah came back from her mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in July after serving in Washington, D.C. While Megan could have left the same month, when she turned 21, she instead chose to leave next February for a mission in Brazil. Just like that, all three sisters had a chance to march together for the first time.
All three were also members of the vaunted American Fork High School marching band. But with Emily and Megan having a four-year age gap, they just missed each other.
As the middle child, Sarah was part of the Cavemen marching band with both sisters at different times, so right now they’re living the dream.
“In high school, I always thought it would be so fun to do band with all of them. And having done it with both of them. I was like, OK, but, that’d be fun if all three of us can be together,” Sarah said. “This is what I’ve wanted since I was in high school.”
According to Sherri Rogers, their mother, marching band has played a vital role in the family history. She and her husband met as members of the Cougar Marching Band. Even though, she says, they never pushed the kids to play an instrument, all of them “tended toward music.”
As much as music is a tradition for the Rogers clan, BYU itself may be a bigger one.
On football game days growing up, the red wall in their house was covered with blue balloons.
The family had season tickets to the Cougars for years, and still does.
Sarah refused to wear the color red until she started going to high school (red is American Fork’s main color) and would draw the BYU “Y” when she doodled in class.
Even though their younger brother is in the American Fork marching band right now, Sarah said she still has trouble wearing red.
And now, they are all a part of that tradition, wearing BYU blue and marching across the “Y” at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
“I remember staying for halftime and watching the bands come on, and stuff like that. And there’s like, there’s a special little run that the band does at the beginning where they enter from all four sides of the stadium. And so I remember there was a part of me that was like, ‘I would really like to be part of the ones that run on really fast.’ Because I just thought it was cool,” Emily said.
They’ve also found that telling people they’re part of the marching band garners a different reaction than the past.
“In high school, we were kind of the dinky weirdos, you know, like marching band was kind of looked down upon. But here, it’s like, you get on the field and the whole stadium goes crazy and the student section loves you and the students section’s so excited,” Megan said.
She added that, just like the football team, the marching band feeds off the energy and excitement of the fans.
One of the biggest supporters, they said, is head coach Kalani Sitake. After beating Idaho State last November, Sitake jumped into the stands and helped conduct the fight song. He, along with Athletic Director Tom Holmoe and countless other members of the campus community, make the band members feel welcomed and supported.
This season’s schedule included a matchup in Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium against Notre Dame, in front of a reported 62,742 people, and a double overtime win at home against Baylor in front of ESPN’s College Gameday crew. The game against Notre Dame, Sarah said, was the first time she felt nervous before playing “because it seemed so much bigger.”
Their experiences also come at a time that more and more appreciation has grown in the mainstream for marching bands. ESPN livestreamed the halftime performances of both the Alabama and Georgia marching bands during the NCAA college football national championship in January. For years, different networks and streaming services have kept the cameras on the field for halftime to see various marching bands.
When all is said and done, the Rogers sisters will have their own unique memories of their time in marching band. Emily conducted the fight song in 2021 as BYU beat Utah for their first Holy War win since 2009. As fans poured onto the field in Rice-Eccles Stadium, it was Emily leading — or “shrieking,” according to Megan — the celebration.
Beyond that, she’s made lifelong friends and said she’s come into her own as a person thanks to the band. Sarah talked about meeting her best friend and her boyfriend through the group.
Whether it was broad emotions like friendship and self-confidence or making the everyday memories they’ll cherish for decades to come, it all comes back to the BYU marching band.
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- From left, sisters Megan, Sarah and Emily Rogers pose for a photo at Brigham Young University’s LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.
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- From left, sisters Sarah, Emily and Megan Rogers pose for a photo in their marching band uniforms.
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- From left, sisters Emily, Sarah and Megan Rogers pose for a photo at Brigham Young University’s LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.
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- Sisters Emily, Sarah and Megan Rogers pose in this undated childhood photo.
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- From left, sisters Emily, Sarah and Megan Rogers pose for a photo at Brigham Young University’s LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.
