THE PEOPLE!
Many of the people you meet both during the audition process and your time in the Marching Virginians (MVs) will become some of your closest friends, not just in college, but throughout life. It’s the only place on campus where you can walk in as a freshman and have 330 friends right from the start of school! Even better, those people have your same love of band but come from every single college of the University with diverse interests and majors!

Nope! Over 90% of The Marching Virginians are NOT music majors. Members of the MVs have majors from across campus. From architecture and business to engineering and dairy science, you’ll most likely have a member of the band who is currently pursuing a major you are interested in!

Absolutely! The MVs rehearse on weekdays from 5:30 to 7:00PM during the fall semester. This is a timeslot when most classes have concluded for the day. Most students have this time free and small conflicts with classes are worked out. We want you to excel in your classes, enjoy your time in MVs making music, and cheer on the Hokies!

Nearly a third of the band consists of engineers so no matter your major, you’ll most likely have time to be in MVs! If you don’t believe us, then read what the Department of Engineering Education (which administers the curriculum for all first-year engineers) says!

Yes, it is! You receive one credit of MUS 3314 for your participation in MVs during the fall semester! All band members are required to be enrolled in the course.

Unlike the majority of high schools, we do a different show for nearly every home game. The 2007 season saw shows featuring the music of Aerosmith, Van Halen, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, James Brown and Genesis. We want to provide a lot of variety, excitement and a fantastic musical and visual product for the fans in Lane Stadium!

In addition to the halftime shows the band performs throughout the fall, once a year Lane Stadium is electrified by The Marching Virginians and their rousing pregame presentation. Many of the most recognizable pictures for the VT faithful come from this performance (VT Logo, Double Tech Spell-Out, "H O K I E S" Spell-Out, and the outline of The Commonwealth of Virginia).

Yes! If the Hokies are selected for a bowl game, The Marching Virginians will nearly always be right there with them! Over the past few years The MVs have performed at the Sugar, Chick-fil-A, Gator, and Orange Bowls, among others. In addition, if the Hokies win their division in the ACC, the band travels to the ACC Championship Game (in Tampa, FL, for 2008).

You'll never know unless you try! On average 80-95% of incoming freshman make the band their first time trying out. Obviously, the percentage varies depending on the year and the section but we’ve found it holds true most of the time.

Yes! We have a 36 member flag corps in the MVs that is taught by our two fantastic flag instructors, Lisa Van Dyke and Sarah McHugh. Both work with the flags during the year and develop new routines for each show along with the flag corps student leadership. It’s probably a bit different than your high school experience, but it’s fun, exciting, and has a lot of variety throughout the year!

We march Piccolos, Clarinets, Alto and Tenor saxes, Trumpets, Mellophones, Trombones, Euphoniums, Sousaphones, Snare Drums, Tenor Drums (sextets), Cymbals, Marching Bells, and Bass Drums.

*Note: we refer to our Mellophones as "Horns", Euphoniums as "Tones", and Sousaphones as "Tubas".

The first thing you need to do is get on our prospective member mailing list! That way, we have some basic information so that we can get in contact with you. It will ask for your anticipated high school graduation year, as well as your email, mailing address and a few other bits of information. This gets the process started so that we know that you are interested.

It depends on what you are auditioning for, so here’s a brief description of the audition process for each component of the band:

Wind Instrument Auditions:
Music, marching, and attitude are the three components of the audition for the wind sections of the MVs. The student leadership in your section (rank captains-marching and section leaders-music) spend three days with prospectives working on marching and music to evaluate each auditionee. If cuts are made, they are announced at the conclusion of the Friday evening rehearsal in Cassell Coliseum during Band Camp.

Drumline Auditions:
Prospective drumline members arrive on campus a week before school begins on Sunday morning for two days of drum instruction and evaluation. The drumline is selected in the late afternoon or early evening on Monday. Prospective members spend time playing in both a full drumline setting as well as numerous break-out sessions (snares, tenors, basses, cymbals and mallets). We encourage members who are auditioning for the drumline to audition on as many instruments as they feel confident on!

Flag Corps Auditions:
Auditions start the Monday of Band Camp for flags (the week school before begins) and consist of four days of instruction and evaluation before performing a set routine as a final audition on Thursday afternoon.

Twirler Auditions:
If you are interested in twirling, you must first contact David McKee, Director of The Marching Virginians, to express your interest as well as indicate your twirling background. The audition deadline and parameters will then be given over email along with a deadline date for submission. The deadline for DVD/VHS submissions is generally early to mid July!

There are only two fees you have to pay! There is a ONE-TIME freshman assessment fee of $25.00, and an annual band activity fee of $35.00.
THAT’S IT!

Everything else we cover for you, including:

• Food at Home Games
• Travel and Per-Diem/Food for Away Games and Bowl Trips
• Your Official MVs 2008 T-Shirt
• Your Official MVs Baseball and Stocking Caps
• Bowl Trip Per-Diem and Travel

The only clothing items we ask you to bring or buy are all-black marching shoes and white marching gloves (once you are selected for the band).

The Marching Virginians issue the following instruments for use by members during the season:

• Flag Equipment
• Drumline Equipment and Sticks
• Sousaphones (practice horn and performance horn)
• Euphoniums
• Trombones
• Mellophones
• Piccolos

In addition, we have limited numbers of the following instruments available for use during the season:

• Tenor Saxophones
• Clarinets

Absolutely! The Department of Music at Virginia Tech offers a multitude of ensembles that are open to music majors and non-majors alike. In addition, a minor in music might be something you are interested as well. Information on ensembles is available here.

In addition, if you are looking for a lighter time commitment and wish to keep playing your instrument in a concert setting, the University Campus Band might be a great fit for you. No audition is required for this ensemble, and it meets conveniently on Monday nights from 8:00-9:30PM.