The

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

Monarch Marching Band (MMB) is the

Marching Band A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...

put in place in response to the formation of the

Old Dominion Monarchs football The Old Dominion Monarchs football program represents Old Dominion University in U.S. college football. The first iteration of the team created in 1930 was known as the William & Mary Norfolk Division Braves. Founded in 2009, the current Monarchs ...

program. It was founded in the summer of 2008 and is currently active. It is currently being headed by Dr. Alexander R. TreviñoAlexander R. Treviño
/ref> The Monarch Marching Band goes to all of the home football games and plays in the pre-game, stands, and halftime. The band prides itself on the fact that it does not do the same show for every football game, and it is fairly rare for the band to play the same song more than once for halftime.

Sections

The MMB has a standard line up of sections for a college band. All of the wind instruments are silver and can be provided by the university. Instruments are: Piccolos, Clarinets,

Saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

s, Mellophones,

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

Baritones A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ra ...

Sousaphone The sousaphone ( ) is a brass instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than ...

s, Snares,

Tenors A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wid ...

, Bass drums, Cymbals, and

Color guard In military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the military colour is generally carried by a young ...

Traditions

Even as a young Marching Band, The MMB has many traditions starting already. One such tradition is yelling “Pride” after the conclusion of each practice and game. This has a double meaning as it means both pride in the sense of being proud to be a Monarch, and also pride being what a grouping of lions is called. Another tradition of the MMB is to pet the lion bust's muzzle at the entrance of the

Foreman Field S.B. Ballard Stadium, formerly Foreman Field, is a 21,944-seat multi-purpose stadium on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. It opened in 1936 with a football game between the University of Virginia and the College of Willi ...

Uniforms

The uniforms for the MMB are quite representative of the city they reside in. Norfolk, Virginia houses a huge Naval station (

Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hampt ...

) and almost in respect of that, their uniforms look very Navy-like. The pants come up in an overall fashion and the coat is a high cut, button-from- the-shoulder type of style. The

Shako A shako (, , or ) is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a visor, and sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with an ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise; and often has a feather, plume (see hackle) ...

looks almost identical to a Naval

Peaked cap The peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It ...

. The color scheme of the uniform is the schools colors, Royal Blue and white. Coincidentally this is also the colors of the Navy. The uniform is adorned with multiple university logos. 'Old Dominion University' on the right shoulder, and the diagonal ODU with crown logo on the left shoulder. The lion shield logo is on the front of the jacket, with M-O-N-A-R-C-H-S spelled vertically down the back. On the front of the Shako, the horizontal ODU with crown logo is present.

Pep Band

Members of the Marching Band make up the University's Basketball Band, which goes to all the Men's and Women's Basketball home-games. If one wants to be a member of the Basketball Band then they have to have been part of the marching band. Each of the 60 members of the band get a $500 stipend. Anybody out of that 60 are also allowed to participate, but they go stipend-less. Other Pep Bands are formed for specific Field Hockey and Soccer games, these are also formed from the marching band and they are strictly voluntary.

References

External links

Official Monarch Marching Band Webpage

Official Facebook Page

Official Twitter

Official Youtube
{{Sun Belt Conference marching band navbox Sun Belt Conference marching bands Musical groups established in 2008 Old Dominion University 2008 establishments in Virginia