Merrimack Athletics victories, pre-game festivities and post-game celebrations are now enhanced with a new fight song that is sure to have fans shouting “Go, Mack! Go!”
“Rise Up, Mack,” which has already been featured at home football games, was written by Andrew Cote, assistant professor of practice and assistant director of bands, specifically for the Merrimack College Marching Band.
As a composer, Cote has written symphonies previously featured at the Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the World Saxophone Congress and various other festivals and conferences.
“President Hopey approached me about the idea of creating a new fight song,” Cote explained. “He envisioned one that would bring people together and encourage the entire community to rise, join in, and celebrate as one.”
“Rise Up, Mack” includes numerous references to Merrimack’s culture. Its title is a direct nod to the College’s current capital campaign, Together We Rise, and the group chant “Go, Mack! Go!” was inspired by the Merrimack College Dance Team’s game day competition routine. Lyrics will be introduced in the near future, inviting all Warrior fans to add their voices to the energy and excitement of cheering on Merrimack student-athletes.
“Sometimes I wrestle with a lot of ideas (when writing music), but this one was different,” he explained. “I was walking across campus one day and the melody just popped into my head. I recorded it as a voice note on my phone and it later wrote itself pretty quickly.”
While the melody took only a few days to write and perfect, composing all parts for the marching band took another month. Merrimack Director of Bands Paul Geresy assisted with writing the percussion lines.
“It’s an honor to write something for our institution for perpetuity,” Cote said. “It’s also nice to bolster our traditions as we grow and compete at the Division I level.”
