Five Questions With the Director of UAlbany's New Winter Guard

A man dressed in all black and a bowtie kneels in front of a group of young women wearing black dresses, spider web crowns and holding stuffed animal spiders.

Preston Coppage, director of UAlbany's new Winter Guard, poses with the group following a performance. (Photo provided)

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 2, 2024) — Preston Coppage is director of the University at Albany’s newest ensemble in the marching and musical arts, the Winter Guard.

The guard, a competitive arm of the UAlbany Color Guard, formed this past winter with 10 student performers and had its debut season this spring, remaining undefeated and racking up awards as it competed throughout the area from January through April.

Coppage, a 2015 UAlbany alumnus who first got into color guard during high school, has served as director of the UAlbany Color Guard since 2013 when the marching band first got off the ground. In recent years, he and band director Justin Miller began discussing ways to expand color guard opportunities in the region and decided a competitive offering could help.

Unlike traditional color guard, which features a choreographed team of flag bearers performing alongside a marching band, a winter guard performs without a band and competes for accolades. UAlbany is now the only college in New York with a winter guard.

“Being able to perform in front of people, take on a character and work closely to bring a production together is a lot more important for a winter guard than the color guard of a marching band,” Coppage said. “There’s a heavier focus on performance and theatrics.”

With a successful inaugural season under his belt, Coppage, who is also an application specialist for Information Technology Services at UAlbany, reflected on the group’s debut and discussed where he hopes to take the ensemble next.

What was the genesis for the Winter Guard at UAlbany?

Starting a winter guard at UAlbany seemed like a no-brainer! The UAlbany Marching Great Danes have been around for over a decade, and I've had many ancillary conversations over the years with our staff about how starting one could impact our visibility and enrollment. There are not many independently run winter guard groups in New York, and certainly none that are part of a SUNY school. We have a large population of fantastic scholastic programs in the area, like Arlington High School, whose winter guard took home their World Championship title this year. If we can provide an accessible community here at UAlbany for prospective students to continue their passion for the marching and musical arts, the rest will fall into place.

For those who are more familiar with traditional color guard, what is the appeal of joining winter guard?

Winter guard from the perspective of the performer is much more intimate. Your audience is right in front of you, and the level of drama and theatrics often brings out a different kind of performance from individuals. Compared to a marching band color guard, there is not a band with winter guard. Performers spin, dance and perform to a selection of music, tied together with a theme or idea. I've found in my experience, performers do color guard for training and keeping up their skills to prepare themselves for winter guard. Here at UAlbany, we work to make sure our fall programs give our students the fundamental skills they need to flourish in our winter season.

A man in a white coat smiles and waves in a crowd in New York City. — Preston Coppage at the Macy’s Day Parade with Tiptoe Winter Guard, a performance group sponsored by Macy’s for the parade, last Thanksgiving. (Photo provided)

How did you get into color guard and why do you enjoy it?

I've been in color guard since high school, starting all the way back in 2009. I had no idea what color guard was before I joined, but a close friend of mine at the time said I should go with her to rehearsal. To say I was shy and skeptical was an understatement, but looking back, I couldn't imagine another activity being this impactful to my life. Since high school, I've marched in various programs including Emanon, Alter Ego and Fusion Core, all independent color guard groups based out of New Jersey. I am a founding member and staff of the UAlbany Marching Great Danes and have had the opportunity to teach at many local and regional color guard and winter guard programs throughout the Capital Region.

Can you share highlights from the winter guard’s first season at UAlbany?

Our first season was a phenomenal success! Our competitive season went from January to the first weekend in April, in which we finished our season undefeated, hosted an exhibition show for the local winter guard community programs to enjoy Broadview Arena, and received the "Fan Favorite" award in addition to placing first in our class at Mid-York Color Guard Circuit championships. The Monday following championships, the UAlbany Winter Guard was featured on the front page of the Times Union. During our pre-season, we created a partnership with the Albany City School District to allow two Albany City seniors to come participate in our program, giving them the opportunity to continue their color guard career in the absence of a program at Albany City. With the number of accomplishments we've had this season, I foresee even greater plans for the UAlbany Winter Guard in 2025!

What’s next for the winter guard?

The staff has been working hard to get our 2025 season started. We are hosting two Spin Clinics here at UAlbany over the summer as a kind of "open gym" for prospective students, local schools and individuals who are looking for their next winter program, to have a day-in-the-life as a Great Dane. We'll be hosting two five-hour intensive classes around dance, flag and weapon to bring people onto campus and experience how we do things here at UAlbany. In 2025, we will be branching out of New York and plan on competing on the national level in Winter Guard International. Throughout the summer and fall, we'll be promoting and recruiting for our next season and are excited to see the turnout.