Bands

TU Symphony Orchestra

You are cordially invited to become a member of one of the most exciting and rewarding organizations on the Towson campus—The Towson University Band. College life means many things to many people, but for the men and women of the Towson Bands, the fun and excitement of college life is even more fulfilling. It is a great thrill to hear the roar of the crowd as the marching band performs its show, or to sit on stage and perform some of the finest concert literature ever written.

You do not have to be a music major or minor to be a member of one of the bands. That's right! Band membership includes future doctors, lawyers, computer programmers, and business people, as well as music majors and minors. Leaders in every field have cited their college band experiences as outstanding forces in their own personal development and success.

Band is a time when you can come together with colleagues from all areas of campus and focus on the performance of great music. You may be surprised to find that band rehearsals are not scheduled for every day. In fact band can actually provide a stimulating diversion to your hectic daily academic schedule.

If you have questions, please contact the Director of Bands Dr. Christopher Cicconi via email at  or call the Band office at 410.704.2765.

 

Marching Band

The World Famous Towson University Marching Band is a contemporary corps style university marching band that learns one half time show each season. This enables us to include sophisticated and current drill trends along with quality musical arrangements. Membership is open to all Towson University students, including non-music majors. No previous marching experience is necessary. The main requirement to join the TUMB is a strong desire to be part of an energized university marching band!

Towson University has made a strong financial commitment to its marching band in order to provide the best possible experience for the students. The band has an extremely high-quality instructional staff and solid student leadership organizations that function within the band. The Towson University Marching Band is extremely proud to have Yamaha Corporation as its corporate sponsor, which means that all of the TUMB’s school-owned brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments are Yamaha instruments. Towson is one of the elite few marching ensembles throughout the country that has this opportunity! Furthermore, ALL members of the TUMB receive a $500 stipend with an opportunity of up to $1,000 for participation in the fall semester. Additional stipends are also available in the spring semester for Pep Band participation.

In November 2009, the Towson University Marching Band enjoyed the most public and prestigious performance of its history as a participant in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The band was selected out of approximately 200 applicants to perform for 3.5 million people on the streets of New York City and more than 50 million people watching from their TVs at home! It was this at this event where we were given the title, “World Famous,” as this internationally televised event debuted the band for the world.

As of the 2017 season, the TUMB consists of approximately 260 students including guard, electronic ensemble, and front ensemble (pit percussion). Every year the band travels to Allentown, PA to perform among several college marching bands of the East Coast. In addition to traveling locally, the band had the incredible opportunity of flying to Frisco, Texas for the FCS National Championship. The Towson University Marching Band is under the direction of Mr John Miliauskas.

For more information, visit the Marching Band main website:

Towson University Symphonic Band

The Symphonic Band is the premiere concert band in the Towson University Department of Music. The band has a long history of performance excellence. The performance in April, 2013 of Eric Ewazen’s Shadowcatcher (with the composer present) featuring the Towson University Brass Quintet (Luis Engelke and René Hernandez, trumpets; Gabrielle Finck, horn; Natalie Mannix, trombone; Michael Bunn, tuba) was particularly noteworthy.

The Symphonic Band has also played a significant role in the development of music educators. It has been a featured ensemble at many Maryland Music Educators Association conferences, three Eastern Division conferences of The National Association for Music Education, and two Eastern Division conferences of the College Band Directors National Association.

The band has toured through the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Tennessee Valley. Guest soloists include Marguerite Levin, Natalie Mannix, Patrick Roulet, Luis Engelke, Bryan DePoy, Edward Palanker, Dale Rauschenberg, and Reynaldo Reyes, Langston Fitzgerald, and Steven Hendrickson. Guest narrators performing with the Symphonic Band have been Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and baseball great Cal Ripken, Jr.

If you have questions, please contact the Director of Bands Dr. Christopher Cicconi via email at  or call the Band office at 410.704.2765.