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Announcements

Letter to Membership

Welcome to one of the world’s greatest bands and Christ-centered communities! You will likely meet some of the best friends of your life this Fall through this band experience. I know I did! The band staff and officers have been working very hard to make this next season the best it can be. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with each of you!  

Please see Dr. Seipp’s Welcome Letter.

New Members: 

IMPORTANT–If you will be a freshman, the university requires you to stay on campus unless your family lives in Lynchburg. Housing fills up soon. This being said, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to complete financial check-in AS SOON AS POSSIBLE so you can secure your spot on campus and in the band. We are excited to have each of you, and we do not want to lose any members because of a housing situation. 

Scholarships: All members receive a scholarship for being in the Spirit of the Mountain Marching Band! First-year members receive $1500, and it increases by $500 for each year you are in the SOTM band. Fourth-year members receive $3000. Band scholarships are not added to student accounts until early Fall after you arrive on campus. You should reach out to the scholarship office if you have questions related to the band scholarship.

Band Camp: This is required rehearsal time for all members. Guard and Percussion return August 4, while the brass and woodwinds return August 10. Camp rehearsals are daily (all day, with breaks) through August 17.

Attendance and Bowl Travel: Attendance is required for all rehearsals and performances.Be sure to add all practices and performances on the marching band performance calendar to your calendar now. Bowl travel is REQUIRED for all band members. Generally, if our football team gets 6 wins, we are travelling to a Bowl game in December. We do expect to get to this level of eligibility. Therefore, please do not make plans for travel after school is out in December that you aren’t willing to change. We will find out Bowl details the first Sunday in December. Typically-speaking, the University will cover meals, on-campus housing for on-campus members, and travel for band members from Lynchburg to the Bowl destination and game and back.

Percussion: Dr. Goddard, Assistant Director of Athletic Bands/Percussion is actively communicating with percussion members through the Band App group. Continue to reach out to him for any percussion-related needs.

Color Guard: We welcome (back) Mrs. Bryanna Boyd to our guard staff! She served as Guard Director for a number of years until 2021, and is returning for 2023 to choreograph and teach all of camp. Continue to reach out to her for any Guard-related questions. We will also be announcing additional guard staff soon!

Music Music is now available here. Use your Liberty email and password to log in. Keep checking over the summer as we will continue to add content. You are expected to be familiar with this content as you enter band camp. Camp moves quickly, so the more you are prepared, the better!

Purchases: If you have not purchased band shoes, gloves, eFlip lyres, etc., please do this immediately. We do not use music stands, so the eFlip lyre is a must for day 1 of band camp. Your section leader and captain can assist you in finding the right things. These are required for band camp. I also want each brass player to have a B.E.R.P. for your instrument. All the DCI groups use these, and they will be very beneficial to you.  https://www.liberty.edu/music/bands/band-camp/ 

Course Registration: Members must be full-time residential students. The Marching Band Class is MUSC 184 / MUSC 484. This is a required class, so please ensure this is in your schedule.

Housing/Campus Meals during band camp: The band covers your “early” housing and meals during band camp, so you do not need to pay extra for this. Meals begin the first day of rehearsals with breakfast for on-campus members and lunch for off-campus members. Off-campus members during band camp only receive lunch and dinner. The SOM office is actively working to communicate band member early check-in and meals student data to Sodexo (dining) and housing, so everyone has that ready when they arrive. I do not think this is complete yet, but they will get it done. See the general check-in details and much more on the band camp page.

Devotional Theme: Our 2024 spiritual theme will be announced over the summer. Our spiritual theme from 2023 was Five Stones, inspired by the Biblical narrative of David and Goliath (I Samuel 17). David drew five smooth stones from a river bed for his sling before meeting Goliath. But, of course, you know he (God) only needed one stone! The “Five Stones,” or principles we will focus on, include Faith, Courage, Preparation, Resilience, and Humility. These principles can guide us in overcoming our “Goliaths” and living purposeful and impactful lives for Christ. Please join me in praying that God opens our hearts and minds to the realities of His character and the promises found in His Word this season.

Scholarships: Band members receive a scholarship for being in the marching band this Fall. It will be applied by the start of the semester. If you have any questions regarding band scholarships, please email  somscholarships@liberty.edu. For more information, see here.

Band Parents Weekend: Band Parents and families are invited to join us for a special banquet luncheon and reserved seating on TBA, Fall 2024. Registration details will be posted on our website and also emailed to students by June 23, so please share that with your parents. Tickets usually sell out quickly for the parent luncheon.

Water Coolers and Sports Bags: Returning members—please bring a water cooler for practices. We are giving water coolers and Sports Bags to NEW members. Everyone must have these (with your name labeled clearly- because they all typically look the same!)

Join University Band (concert band)! This is our non-auditioned concert band I direct, which meets this Fall on Monday evenings from 6:30-9 p.m. I’d love to have you join us! If you have a full schedule, you can take it for CSER credit instead! The course is MUSC 187 / 487.

If we may assist in any way, please let us know. I am here to serve you.

I look forward to meeting you!  Go Flames!!

In His Service,

-Dr. Seipp


Ultimate Drill Book

The Liberty University Marching Band is excited to announce that we are paperless! All music and drill will be distributed to your iPhone or Android Phone.

While we know that about 98% of the band already has a smartphone, this Fall, everyone is required to have a smartphone to operate. We have been learning from other major university bands that have adopted this system, and now we are, too! The system to which we are subscribing is Ultimate Drill Book. You are welcome to take a look at their site and the many tutorials.

This is a requirement for Marching Band members. See what you will need to successfully use Ultimate Drill Book.


Personalized Band Jackets

We are excited to offer personalized band jackets to all band members this fall! The cost will be $105.00 for all sizes. This warm jacket is navy with a bit of reflective ‘disappearing’ stripe near the shoulder and will have our large, full 3-color eagle/monogram logo embroidered on the back, our logo embroidered on the front left, and your name and instrument personalization embroidered on the front right.

Please know that these jackets are offered exclusively to current members of The Spirit of the Mountain Marching Band only.


Shoe and Glove Requirement

The Liberty University Marching Band is pleased that you will soon wear our very sharp and state-of-the-art uniforms. While the uniform (jacket, trousers, shako & plume, gauntlets, raingear) are provided by the band, all members are required to purchase their own BLACK gloves and “Drill Masters” black shoes (sorry, no other shoe is accepted that you may have had from high school, even if they are rather new). We have required these shoes for a few years now, and it presents a professional appearance. Please order your shoes from a vendor of your choosing, such as Bandshoppe.com. Gloves may be any brand, cotton or grip, etc.

Our guard section will place a separate order for their unique footwear and gloves.

Our local music store, Lynchburg Music Center, will also offer these shoes and gloves for sale at band camp check-in. Prices may vary.

Piccolos

All flute players will be required to play their own piccolo.  If you do not own a piccolo, please begin the process at this time to acquire your own.  The band does not supply piccolos to marching band members.  We are hopeful that all our flute players will find the benefits of playing piccolo in the marching band!

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