By Mike Emery
Staff writer

For football fans, halftime means ‘showtime.’ When both teams depart the field leaving only the freshly mowed field underneath the shimmering stadium lights, David Bertman knows that halftime is about more than entertainment.

“It’s about pride,” said Bertman, director of the University of Houston’s Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band. “When the band steps out on the field, it’s representing the thousands of students here and the thousands of alumni in Houston and around the world. That’s what drives traditional college marching bands, and that’s what drives us.”

With a Feb. 1 Super Bowl performance alongside pop superstar Janet Jackson and the Texas Southern University Ocean of Soul Marching Band, the Spirit of Houston will represent its university in front of its biggest audience ever.

Bertman is no stranger to promoting a school’s pride through its band program.

Growing up in Oklahoma, Bertman developed an early interest in music. He learned piano at age 5, then picked up the saxophone in junior high school before switching to French horn.

In college, Bertman marched in one of America’s most popular ensembles, the University of Oklahoma’s Pride of Oklahoma marching band.

After graduation in 1987, he headed to Texas and accepted a position as a band director with Haltom City High School. When UH’s famed wind conductor Eddie Green visited the school for a band clinic, he and Bertman struck up a friendship.

“When I first heard the UH wind ensemble in concert under his direction, it was the most amazing thing,” Bertman said. “It was every bit as good as the Chicago Symphony.”

Bertman soon began pursuing his master’s degree from UH’s Moores School of Music. Once involved in the university’s music program, he became instantly attached to it.

“I am in debt to this university is so many ways,” he said.

In 2000, Bertman was approached by UH’s music department to join the faculty.

Since his arrival, Bertman has steadily increased the size of the band. When he arrived, the marching band had only 87 members.

The next year, membership doubled. His current goal is “300 or more in 2004.”

According to Bertman, students are the driving force behind the Spirit of Houston. While his hands guide the direction of the music and the marching routine, he knows that making the magic happen is a team effort.

“The success of the Spirit of Houston is a collaborative project,” he said. “The faculty, staff and department are all essential, and the dedication of our students comes out in every performance and reflects a sense of pride in UH and what it offers to all of us.”