Congratulations Marching Statesmen on completion of your first field show of the season! Can't wait for our first competition day in Annapolis THIS SATURDAY!
Don’t forget that our Spectator Swag shop closes TONIGHT at midnight so get your orders in ASAP! | | THE 2026 MARCHING STATESMEN SEASON! | Make sure to check the Marshall Band website (www.marshallband.org)
for the most up-to-date calendar! | | |
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
Monday, September 28
- SRO Auditions for those who are participating (times vary)
- 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM: One more volunteer (student OR adult) needed for second shift of Field Hockey concessions! Sign up below!
Tuesday, September 29
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
(If you ordered band swag from a few weeks ago, Melinda Batman will have your orders ready to pick up at the end of practice!)
- 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM: LOTS of Volunteers needed for two shifts of Varsity Flag Football (Students can earn service hours! Sign up below!)
Wednesday, September 30
- 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Evening Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Thursday, October 1
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
- 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM: Need ONE additional adult volunteer for first concessions shift of Freshman/JV Football. Please sign up below if you can help!
Saturday, October 3
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ALL DAY: MARINE CORPS INVITATIONAL COMPETITION in Annapolis, MD (See detailed schedule below!)
| | GET READY FOR MARINE CORPS INVITATIONAL! | |
Our first competition event is... on the horizon!
Most sign-up slots are filled for VOLUNTEER assistance with the Marine Corps Invitational on October 3, 2026, but there are a few openings for truck loading at GCM at NOON and unloading at the end of the night (late!). Please note that volunteer sign-up times have now been adjusted to reflect alignment with the schedule below.
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Mr. Vesilind has provided a detailed timeline of the events for competition day, Saturday, October 3 below:
9:30am – 12:00pm – Rehearse in GCM stadium
12:00pm – Load trucks, lunch break. Students may leave campus
2:15pm* – Report back to GCM to change into half uniforms
2:45pm – Load buses in half uniform, wear your Marshall Band T-shirt
3:00pm – Leave GCM
4:00pm – Arrive at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, unload, bathrooms, change into full uniform
4:40pm – Move to Warm-up
4:45pm – Warm-up
5:45pm – Front Ensemble leave warm-up
5:50pm – Winds, Battery and Guard leave warm-up
6:03pm – Arrive at the gate
6:18pm – PERFORM
6:33pm – Move to buses/trucks, pack up and change out of uniform
7:20pm – Move to stands as a group, bring money for concessions
8:30pm – Open Class Awards
9:00pm – Move to buses after awards
9:15pm – Leave Annapolis
10:00pm – Arrive at GCM, unload, dismiss
* Please note that the report time back from lunch break is now 2:15 PM.
Families: This is a fabulous event showcasing a variety of bands from up and down the east coast! Spectators are invited and encouraged to attend the competition to cheer on the Marching Statesmen Band & Colorguard! You can meet us at the stadium in Annapolis or you can meet up at GCM at 2:45pm and follow the buses!
For more information about the event from the organizers (including ticket purchase, parking fees, and clear-bag policy), please visit the US BANDS: MARINE CORPS INVITATIONAL webpage. You do not need to bring stadium seats, as this stadium has chair-style seating with back support.
| | SIGN UP FOR OUR NEXT MARCHING COMPETITION! | | Annapolis is just the beginning! We have yet another competition NEXT weekend (10/10)! Please sign up below to help out as the Marching Statesmen compete at the
VMBC SHENANDOAH VALLEY MARCHING INVITATIONAL COMPETITION on Saturday, October 10!
*Please note that times on this sign-up are tentative (aka completely made up!)
and will be updated once we receive our performance schedule! | | NON-VARSITY FOOTBALL CONCESSIONS SHIFTS! | | |
We have an INCREDIBLY BUSY concessions week this week—with games on Monday (Field Hockey), Tuesday (Flag Football), and Thursday (Freshman/JV Football). Please sign up to help if you can!
Next Freshman / JV Football games at home are this THURSDAY, October 1! Please sign up if you can help! Other opportunities include:10/8, and 10/29. Thank you!
| | Next Field Hockey home game is TOMORROW, September 28! The last regular-season date remaining for field hockey is 10/6! | | The first Girls Varsity Flag Football game is this TUESDAY, September 29! We need 4-5 concessions volunteers for each shift—6:30–8:00pm and 7:45–9:15pm! Volunteers can be high school students or 8th grade students with a parent! (Great way to earn service hours!) Please sign up below if you can help! | | Please join us in giving a HUGE, gigantic, enormous shoutout to amazing band dads, Brian Viskupic and Steve Ni, for their hours and hours of work on the STARS props for the 2026 Marching Statesmen field show! Brian has worked tirelessly on the creative construction of the stars and their wheeled stands, and Steve brought his lighting expertise into the mix to light it all up! We are so incredibly grateful for the behind-the-scenes work of this talented team—and can’t wait for you all to see what they created to enhance the visuals of the EVENT HORIZON show!
We also want to thank Melinda Batman, Greg Batman, Sam Rayburn, Peter Thompson, Michelle Thompson, Trish Vanstory, and Gayla Baumgardt for their help with preparing and taping the large field show prop flooring on Wednesday night during rehearsal!
And, of course, we are grateful to volunteers Lara Fabiano, Jen Diffel, Michelle Thompson, and Kevin Glasscock, who worked field hockey concessions this past week! And to all our many parent/family volunteers who worked the varsity football game on Friday night: Justine Parr, Nicole Camara, Lauren Pachman, Minji Bryan, Donna Dugan, Cooky Bysura, Susan Ganter, Jamie Ganter, Nina Roehl, Shilpee Arora, Rima Alshawkani, Chris Krouse, Vanesa Cross, Tim Krouse, Veronica Bong, Ranbir Bhutani, Jennifer Gibbons-Kincaid, Eleanor Gibbons, Kevin Jacobs, Matt Parr, David Ackerman, Peter Thompson, Katie Dulaney, Steve Ni, Melissa Ni, Laura Hogan, Deena Parker, Jamie Bhutani, Kerry Fraatz, Mark Kincaid, Ron Wu, Melinda Batman, Karen Growney, David Keller, Andrea Keller, Jill Nissan, Zach Fraatz, Samantha Rayburn, Anglea Clague, Darren Clague, Ed Glasscock, and Kevin Glasscock!
Finally, thank you to Cooky Bysura for designing our amazing Senior Banners, and to Sopanha Anderson for organizing the ordering of the banners as well as helping to hang them up around the stadium alongside assistants Jill Nissan, Michelle Thompson, and Nicole Camara!
We appreciate all our volunteers! 🩵❤️🩵 | | |
Please be on the lookout in the coming weeks for the following Sign-Ups:
- VARSITY HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME v. McLean (10/16)
- VARSITY HOME FOOTBALL GAME (8th Grade Night) v. Wakefield (10/23)
- VMBC SOUTH COUNTY HS COMPETITION (10/24)
- VIENNA HALLOWEEN PARADE (10/28)
- FRIENDS & FAMILY SHOWCASE at GCM (11/4)
- VARSITY HOME FOOTBALL GAME (Senior Recognition Night) v. Herndon (11/6)
- VMBC CHAMPIONSHIPS (11/7)
- FALL BANQUET FOOD CONTRIBUTION & DECORATING (11/10)
| | The Success of our Marching Statesmen season is made possible by our many parent volunteers! We ask that ALL parents commit to signing up for at least 8 shifts/tasks during marching band season to support our band program. | |
LAST CHANCE: MARCHING STATESMEN SPIRIT SHOP
CLOSES TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT!
| | Need some Marching Statesmen Swag to show your Spectator Support? Our Spectator Spirit Shop closes at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT! Order yours ASAP!!
*Band Swag ordered from the first batch a few weeks ago will be available for pickup from Melinda Batman at end of practice this Tuesday evening! | |
Spectator Spirit Wear Shop features:
- Marching Statesmen Blankets
- Marshall Band Portable Stadium Chairs
- Marching Statesmen Rain Jackets
- Marching Statesmen Fleece Jackets
- ...and more!
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| STUDENT SPOTLIGHT SUBMISSIONS | We love to shine a spotlight on music-related activities, involvement, volunteering, and individual achievements of Marshall Band students! Please send an email to communications@marshallband.org or president@marshallband.org (along with a photo to accompany the activity if you have one), and we will feature you/your student with a shoutout on our Student Spotlight section of the Marshall Band website! | | SHARE YOUR MARCHING BAND PHOTOS! | Have any photos taken from the Marching Band Season that you’d love to share? We’d love to see them! Please upload any favorite moments from throughout the season to our shared Google Drive — from practices and games to competitions, special events, and everything in between. We’d love your help in capturing all the fun, excitement, and memories from the marching band season! | | |
Tuesday, October 6
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Wednesday, October 7
- 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Evening Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Thursday, October 8
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Saturday, October 10
- ALL DAY: VMBC SHENANDOAH VALLEY MARCHING BAND INVITATIONAL
Monday, October 12
- Teacher Workday/Student Holiday!
Tuesday, October 13
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Wednesday, October 14
- 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Evening Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Thursday, October 15
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Saturday, October 16
- 7:00 PM Varsity HOMECOMING Football Game (v. McLean)
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