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What parents of TIGER Band Members have to say....
If you are worried about your son or daughter meeting new friends or how they will
fit in at college, encourage them to sign up for the marching band. My son started at
Towson 2 years ago knowing only one other student. His membership in the Towson Marching
Band gave him an instant circle of friends that have been his family for the last 2
years. Yes, Marching Band requires a lot of time, but students seem to have better time
management skills when they have a full schedule. They realize early on that time is
limited and manage someway to fit everything in. When friends ask if my son is enjoying
Towson, I am pleased to inform them that Towson has been a glove fit, and how band has
been the reason he has had such a positive experience.
-Cinda Maul, mother of Brian Maul (alto saxophone)
Marching Band is ABSOLUTELY the best way to begin college life! It helps incoming freshmen
learn the campus, make friends, and have fun, all before classes begin. Once the year
begins, the fun continues, and band friends can study and play together. Plus, being part
of a great performing group, like the Tiger Marching Band, is both a pleasure and an honor.
It can be work too, but the rewards are way beyond the effort that is required. And, to
top it all off, band members are paid to participate in cash and school credit. It's a
win-win situation!
-Kathy Calvert, mother of Casey Calvert (alto saxophone)
Marching band for my son was a very positive experience in high school. He formed some strong
friendships and gained a very strong sense of team effort and reward. The fact that he was
able to take this experience to the next level in college has proven very beneficial for
him. The opportunity to participate in a college marching band gave him an area of expertise
and experience at a time and place that was otherwise totally new. Although he now has many
friends outside of the marching band, it has provided him an excellent springboard to develop
those initial college friendships that help so much in the early stages of the college experience.
-David Tart, father of David Tart (percussion)
Matthew Radhe had a great time in the band. I think he appreciates the talent, precision marching
and the outstanding half-time shows that result from this. Matthew griped a little about all
the practice but I think he realized it produced outstanding results. He didn't have any problems
juggling band and school schedules.
I appreciated all the work that Mr. Miliauskas and the band did for the alumni homecoming band.
I know Matthew enjoyed having me and his brother Eric perform with him. By the way, Eric made some
contacts in the drum section and he is now involved with the drum corp. in New Jersey.
-Richard Radhe, father of Matthew Radhe (alto saxophone)
The band, be it marching band, pep band, concert band, has always played
a very important role in my daughter's life. There are many benefits for a
student to become involved in the marching band program, I'll let the great
uniforms speak for themselves!
Entering the marching band most students already have something in common with other band members: 8 years of your
life working together to create beautiful sounds from elementary through high school. Now you already have the ice
broken in developing some friendships that may help you adjust to your new college life. The marching band also
requires making a commitment of time and practice which provides you valuable life long skills in managing your
time for school, work, and of course your social life. A side effect is you end up creating wonderful memories of
these experiences.
Last, the band director, Mr. Miliauskas, treats the students with respect and professionalism. You are treated as
adults and have a great responsibility as representatives of Towson University when you don the marching band uniform.
College is about preparing for life, making friendships, and making memories. The marching band will certainly provide
you with all of these and more. All you need to bring is your enthusiasm.
-Denise Stemler, mother of Laura Stemler (tuba)
The Tiger Marching Band is one of the best aspects of Towson University. My daughter had an
easy transition to college life by attending marching band camp a week earlier than other
freshmen, had a great opportunity to develop long lasting friendships, and being part of
this organization has kept her very focused on her commitments and studies.
-Lisa Abbey, mother of Erica Abbey (clarinet)
The Tiger Marching Band has been a wonderful experience for my son. He joined in his Junior
year and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was. The new director, John Miliauskas,
has created an atmosphere of camaraderie and creativity unlike anything my son had experienced
before with marching bands. He will treasure the two years that he spent with the Tiger Band
(and I have it all on videotape to show his family when he has one of his own).
-Trish Davis, mother of Craig Davis (alto saxophone)
The TIGER Marching Band provided Joe with an immediate group of friends and created an immediate
bond with Towson University. My concern was always that Joe would go to class and go back to his
room and that would be it. The TIGER band provided a social setting that paved the way for a
successful freshman year in college.
-John Gradowski, father of Joe Gradowski (baritone)
New friends from all over the place.
Improved musicianship.
Exercise!
Opportunity, through exposure to Towson's great music department to explore other areas of performance.
AND, to see in the faces and voices of the fans in the stands who are begging the band to "give them
the sauce", that the Tiger Marching Band brings a lot of fun, joy and excitement to the game. Even if the
football team lost, everyone's leaving the stadium with a smile on their faces because the band's performance
is always fun, always entertaining and always excellent!
-Laura Weldon, mother of Amy Weldon (trumpet)
We were so happy for our son Matthew at the end of this past summer when he successfully auditioned for the bass
guitar position in the marching band. Although he was an incoming freshman voice major at Towson, he quickly fit
into the band organization. Matthew really enjoys his time with the band and it has made the transition from
high school to college away from home an easy one for him.
He quickly established friendships with many of the band members at the Band Camp before the fall semester,
associations that has led to healthy musical, social and athletic interactions for him early in his college
career. He also enjoyed performing with the Pep Band at basketball games this season. We were fortunate enough
to be able to attend a few of the football games last fall and basketball games this winter to watch Matthew
perform, to hear the excellent band music and to see the excitement generated in the fans by these great bands.
Mr. John Miliauskas has done a wonderful job selecting the repertoire and directing both the marching and pep bands.
-John and Diane Lowe, parents of Matthew Lowe (bass guitar)
What members of TIGER Band Members have to say....
I cannot say enough about how much being a member of the Towson University TIGER Marching Band
has affected me as a college student. I marched all four years with my high school's marching
band and another four years with another organization, so originally I wasn't planning on
marching with Towson at all. But a good friend of mine persuaded me to sign up and I am so
glad I did. I would say about 80% of my friends here at Towson I met through Marching Band.
As an incoming freshman or transfer student, Early Week gives you a chance to not only get
familiar with the campus a week before any one else gets there, you are also thrown into a
situation where you have to interact with complete strangers for 7 long days. Sounds scary,
but when you think about how everyone around you is there for the same reasons, it makes
things easier. You'll meet new people the first day and by the end of the week you'll be
laughing at inside jokes, exchanging screen names and wishing it hadn't ended so soon. I
have made friends in the past two seasons as a member of the TIGER Band that I will never
forget.
-Amy Weldon, Sophomore (Trumpet)
I joined marching band my sophomore year because I really didn't meet anyone my freshman year besides my roommates.
Within the first few days of band camp, I had already become extremely close with people in my section, and other
sections. Now, my best friends here at Towson were all in marching band with me, and all my roommates next year are
members of the marching band. Marching was a lot of work, especially during band camp, but everyone in the band is
so enthusiastic about putting on a good show and creating a better band that it made practices go by quicker. You
get to be part of a lot of really cool experiences, like the football games, and especially the exhibitions where
you're really adored and admired by the audience. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend marching band to anyone who wants
to form a close network of good friends, be a part of great and continually improving organization, and wants to
have fun!
-Allie Burns, Sophomore (Flute)
I think that the rehearsal schedule this past season was better than it was two seasons ago, I like the idea of having
rehearsal Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I like marching band because it's a fun class, even though some rehearsals
can be long and tedious marching band is like a break from "normal" classes with studying, homework, and such.
-Stephanie Reed, Sophomore (Flute)
I joined marching band my freshman year to meet new people, and ended up getting a whole new group of friends.
Adjusting to college life can be a little difficult at first, but after joining you have people to eat with,
meet between classes, or just to say hi to when you pass them on campus. I love the energy of the band and
the sense of accomplishment it brings after completing a show--we have a lot of fun!
-Megan Purkey, Sophomore (Piccolo)
Marching band is a great way to make the transition into college fun and easy. Everyone from fellow freshmen to
super seniors to staff members are there to not only help you with music, but answer your questions about Towson.
It's awesome to already have friends at college before you start classes.
-Sean Frampton, Freshman (Bass Drum)
Marching band has always been a part of my life since middle school, and it was only natural for me to continue
when I began college. Although there is a time commitment involved, the benefits of establishing new friendships
and being a part of something great more then made up for it. I thoroughly enjoy marching with the Towson Tigers,
and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.
-Sarah Stalcup, Senior (Trumpet)
Coming from a school that was sparse in number of musicians, I was somewhat disheartened throughout my career as a
high school trombone player. People did not project through the music a sense of understanding and passion that I
thought was absent. When I joined the Towson University Marching Band, I not only found other musicians who were
passionate about what they do, I found some friends.
-Nicholas Burrier, Freshmen (Trombone)
Some people say that college is hard to make true friends. Doing Color Guard at Towson nullifies that. You work
hard with these people, you sweat with these people, you learn with these people, you laugh with these people,
and you grow to love these people. You have a week of nothing but these other men and women and it's amazing. I
really feel like I'm part of a team at Towson and I couldn't replace the memories and friends that Towson Color
Guard has given me!
-Mandy Georgieff, Sophomore (Color Guard)
From the first day of Early Week, each member of the TIGER Marching Band has a whole family by his or her side, not
just within one's section, but in the entire band as well. By the time school begins, you already know over a
hundred people who you're sure to run into on campus. Though you might not know everyone's name at first, you can
always say, "Hey, aren't you in marching band? You stand behind me in the opener!" or something like that.
-Billy Georg, Freshmen (Percussion)
When people ask about my freshman year at college, one of the first few things I say is, joining the marching band was
the greatest decision I ever made. During the summer I was very unsure about joining the band, because I was told that
it took up a lot of time, and I am not a music major. However, the one thing that sold me on joining the band was the
fact that Mr. Miliauskas personally called my house, and just talked to me about how much fun the band will be and how
great the people are.
The rehearsal time was very flexible, it was three days a week and then on Saturdays and some Sundays. However, you
have plenty of time to do school work. That was my biggest concern, and I noticed that it was easy to manage my schedule
with band, my social life and school work, and I ended my semester with a 4.0. So it is easy. The greatest thing about
the Tiger Marching Band is you are able to walk around campus, and you will see someone you know…as an incoming freshman
or transfer student, that is a really good feeling.
Marching Band helped adjusting to college so much easier because during early week, you meet 120 kids who are always
looking for new friends and are welcoming. Being a part of the Tiger Marching Band was the greatest thing that I've
done at college, I made amazing friends and cannot wait until the new season starts!!
-Jenn Pretyka, Freshmen (Flute)
Being a part of the Tiger Marching Band increased my playing skill to an amazing level, as well as improving my
marching skills. Rehearsals had dedication poured into them, but they went extremely smoothly since great lessons
and techniques were covered. It was extremely easy to adapt to college since I was able to make friends with upper
classmen and other great peers.
-Matt Minchello, Freshmen (Percussion)
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The Towson University TIGER Marching Band plays exclusively on Yamaha brass, woodwind,
and percussion instruments.
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