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For news about the Marching 110 and a link to the Ohio University Marching Band Society of Alumni and Friends, visit the 110 Web site. (a new browser window will open when you follow this link)   More from Through the Gate Super intentions Fine tuning She really means business Marching home Sounds like the right mix Write to us! Care to comment on an Ohio Today story? Or share a memory about your days on campus? Then drop us a letter to the editor. Here's how: E-mail Send e-mail to ohiotoday@ohio.edu By regular mail Letters Ohio Today 102 Scott Quad Ohio University Athens, OH 45701-2979 Fax Fax letters to (740) 593-1887 Letters to the editor may be edited for space and style

By Katie Fitzgerald As a high school senior, Christine Gasch had only one thing on her mind when it came to college: becoming a member of the Marching 110. "I didn't apply anywhere else," says Gasch, BMUS '00. "I went to Ohio University because I wanted to march in the band.     Christine Gasch and Conneaut band students She was just as determined when it came time to make her next move. The day she received her diploma from Ohio University, Gasch returned to her hometown of Conneaut in northeastern Ohio to prepare to lead the marching band at her high school alma mater. "She's really an outstanding musician," says Marching 110 Director Richard Suk, "and she was an outstanding student." Gasch's transition to Athens and back was fairly seamless thanks to a move three decades ago to incorporate the 110 style into the CHS marching band program. In 1970, John Plosila, BMUS '74, a former student of Conneaut director George Voytek, worked with Conneaut musicians during summer band camps to familiarize them with the dancing and rock-tune approach. The style stuck, and many Conneaut musicians have made their way to Ohio University as a result. As it turns out, Plosila stuck, too. He's now the Conneaut High School principal. And two other Ohio University grads, Timothy Scott Coffey, BMUS '93, MM '98, and Voytek's son Mike, BMUS '91, also have directed the Conneaut band. Gasch accepted the post of Conneaut middle and high school band director a week before college graduation, making her the schools' first female band director and ensuring a continuation of the 110 style. "The school was looking for somebody to continue that tradition, someone who knew and understood it and who really wanted to continue it," Gasch says. "It's important for me to give back to Conneaut what Conneaut has given me." Katie Fitzgerald, BSJ '03, is a student writer for University Communications and Marketing.