BOZEMAN — The muffled roar of 24,000 fans trickled into a tunnel where more than 200 Spirit of the West members lay in wait.  

Brianna Rainey turned to face the sea of blue and gold for the last time, donning a white cowboy hat indicating her leadership role in Montana’s largest collegiate marching band. She was about to conduct her peers during Montana State University’s Football Championship Subdivision game in Nashville, and she couldn’t believe how far she’d come. 

Just five years prior, Rainey was one of only five musicians in Forsyth High School’s band program. She had never marched a day in her life, nor had she attended a college football game.  

It was inconceivable that her last performance would take place on a national stage. She ascended a podium on the championship field, raised her gloved hands in the air, and gave musicians their cue to play “How the West is Won.” 

“Yelling ‘Go, ’Cats, Go’ with thousands of other people was surreal. I was trying not to cry because I knew that no matter the outcome, this was my last game,” she said. “That was definitely the best way to go out.” 

Hanging up her uniform that day, enthused by a win for the Bobcats, Rainey closed an important chapter in her life. But another begins on Friday, May 8, after she graduates from MSU’s College of Arts and Architecture with a degree in music education. She hopes to teach middle school or high school students in central Montana.  

This region of the state is where Rainey feels at home, she said, having grown up in Havre and Forsyth with frequent travel to Bozeman for Future Farmers of America events. When she started college, however, she was traversing unfamiliar territory.  

It didn’t matter that she taught herself multiple instruments in high school — preferring the flute — or earned a music scholarship to MSU: Rainey said she felt like an imposter among other students who had played for longer at bigger schools. Then, she began to form her own community of musicians and switched majors from nursing to music education. Everything started to click.  

She joined several ensembles including Wind Symphony, the Voces Luminis choir, University Band and — the chief reason she came to MSU — the Spirit of the West. 

The 42-year-old marching band performs at games, campus events and community gatherings. Rainey said the band represents MSU rain or shine, sometimes performing in sub-zero temperatures during the winter, and embodies the energy aptly described in the fight song played at every game: “We’ve got the vim, we’re here to win.”  

As a drum major, Rainey was the band’s student director. She conducted performances and was the first musician audiences saw when the band entered a space. She led performances with co-drum major Jordan Jensen, a biochemistry student from Townsend. She said there was nothing quite like performing in Bobcat Stadium with her parents seated behind her — she often heard her dad cheering her name over the crowd — and watching her peers’ hard work come to fruition in real time.  

She added her own artistic flare to conducting hand motions, which must be seen by musicians 50 yards away and remain perfectly in sync with those of other student conductors. If MSU had a conducting hall of fame, Rainey would certainly be in it, said band director Nathan Stark.  

“We want everyone to be bold and brave on the field. Having a leader like Brianna who inspires that energy and encourages students to try is just invaluable,” he said. “Younger students see Brianna, and they think, ‘I want to be like her.’” 

Providing a safe space for younger students was Rainey’s goal when she stepped into a leadership role for the band, first as a piccolo section leader, then as an assistant field captain and drum major. She recalls how intimidating it was as a freshman to keep time and form complex shapes on the field while playing an instrument. She remembers being terrified for her first Gold Rush game, the home opener for the football season. 

“I remember walking out of the tunnel and seeing the crowd, and I was just in awe,” she said. “I was like, ‘I'm going to forget everything.’ But as soon as we started, I just focused.” 

As a drum major, Rainey became a friendly face for students entering an annual band camp. She also held mentoring sessions for aspiring drum majors this year, having a heart-to-heart with those who worried, like she did, that they wouldn’t live up to the pressure the position requires.  

The experience has transformed her, so much that people remark on her self-assured demeanor when she is student teaching, Rainey said. She spent the spring semester instructing 120 students in several of Gallatin High School’s bands and preparing them for a district music festival. Before heading into the field, music education students spend time observing and teaching in three local schools. They also learn how to perform the basics on nearly every instrument. 

Rainey plays each instrument like it’s her specialty, said Derek Bannasch, assistant teaching professor of music. Off campus, Bannasch conducts Rainey in the Gallatin Valley Concert Band and has hired her for the Ellen Theatre’s pit orchestra.  

“Brianna is very intelligent, and she takes her craft seriously,” Bannasch said. “I sound like I’m fangirling a bit, but she really is an excellent student.” 

Rainey said she is eager to teach the next generation of music students. 

“At MSU, I've really been able to step up and grow into the person I'm supposed to be,” she said.