Wright will finally conduct his FSU fight song

(This column first appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat on November 20, 2009.)

The man who brought Florida State to FSU football will conduct the school's fight song for the first time on Saturday.

Retired FSU music professor Tommie Wright will conduct the Marching Chiefs Band in the fight song as the finale of the halftime show during the Maryland-FSU football game. Wright wrote the fight song music 59 years ago. His performance will highlight the band's tribute to the FSU Alumni Association, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

“It's hard to put your own fingerprint on something in the modern world, but Tommie left his fingerprint on FSU with the fight song and his 50 years of teaching,” said Patrick Dunnigan, director of the Marching Chiefs. “It's a great honor for us that he would do that.”