*** AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE JUNE 2013 ***

The 2013 Spartan Marching Band ornament is the eighth in an annual series of Michigan State University ornaments that are available exclusively at shop.msu.edu. Made of solid brass that is silver in color, the ornament is representative of the Spartan Marching Band’s storied history of tradition, innovation, and excellence.

Each ornament comes with an insert containing historical information about the Spartan Marching Band and is packaged in a foil-stamped collectible box. Hand-crafted in the U.S.A., the ornament measures 2.25″w x 2.5″h. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Spartan Marching Band.

Also available as part of an eight-piece ornament set, sold for $99.95.

Note: Members of the MSU Alumni Association may type in MSUAA in the coupon code box at check out to receive a 10% discount on this item. Please include your membership ID number in the comments section of the order.

Order yours here!: http://shop.msu.edu/product_p/us-107.htm.

The Spartan Marching Band is open to all university students by audition only. You must be regularly admitted to Michigan State University in order to audition; students enrolled at MSU through the Lifelong Education program are not eligible for participation. You do not need to be a music major to qualify for the Spartan Marching Band.

You may e-mail the Director of the Spartan Marching Band, Professor John Madden at madden@msu.edu with any questions related to Spartan Marching Band auditions.

All auditions (regardless of section) must be confirmed through the MSU band office at (517) 355-7654. The SMB has scheduled several audition days for 2013. They are:

Instrumentalists

The instrumental audition should consist of one prepared selection involving contrasting styles (3 to 5 minutes in length). A piece that you might perform at a “Solo and Ensemble Festival” would be appropriate. You do not need an accompanist. Please also prepare your major scales up to 4 sharps and 4 flats. There will be brief sight-reading.

Auditions are Saturday, June 8, 2013 at 9:00 AM

“Out of state” instrumentalists (or those who can not attend the audition day) may submit a DVD (video and sound) of your solo material and scales. Mail DVD by June 8, 2013 to:

Professor John T. Madden
Director, Spartan Marching Band
118 School of Music
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1043

Drumline

2013 MSU Drumline auditions will be held on Saturday, April 27, and Saturday, May 11, from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. More information can be found on the drumline website.

Questions about drumline auditions should be directed to Professor Jon Weber, MSU drumline instructor.

Color Guard

Auditions are Saturday, June 15, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Questions about Color Guard auditions should be directed to Mr. Orlando Suttles, Spartan Color Guard instructor.

Big Ten Flags

Auditions are Friday, May 10, 2013 from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Big Ten Flag questions should be directed to section leader, Fame Tata (tatafaye@msu.edu).

Feature Twirler

If interested in this position, you must submit materials as follows.

Deadline: February 15, 2013

Please submit:

1. DVD of solo twirling performances. May be from field shows or indoor competition.

2. Cover letter, photo, and resume of twirling accomplishments.

Materials will be screened and candidates for the position will be invited to campus for an audition to be held on Saturday, May 11, 2013. Scholarship funding is available and candidate must be accepted to Michigan State University. Only select candidates will be invited to campus for the audition.

Questions: Contact Professor John Madden, Director, Spartan Marching Band. madden@msu.edu or 517-355-7654

Send materials to:

Professor John Madden
333 W. Circle Drive
MSU College of Music room 116
East Lansing, MI 48824

Brass and Saxophone Music Majors

If you plan to be a music-major, your College of Music audition will satisfy for automatic membership in the Spartan Marching Band (except for percussionists). Feel free to call (517) 355-7654 to ask any questions related to this subject. Music majors will receive a letter from the Band Office in early May. If you would like to participate in the SMB as a music major, simply fill out the form in the early May mailing and return it to the MSU Band office. You will then be included in our July mailing for all new SMB members.

Flute, clarinet, oboe, and bassoon music majors must audition for the SMB, on your SMB instrument of choice. These instruments are not in the SMB instrumentation.

Directions and Audition Appointments

All auditions (regardless of section) must be confirmed through the MSU band office. Contact Charlene Wagner, SMB Administrative Assistant at (517) 355-7654 to secure an audition. Or, email her at reha@msu.edu.

Note: Be sure to leave plenty of time for parking, as finding a spot can sometimes be difficult!

Door to door directions from mapquest. Enter your address in the start section, then press “get directions” at the bottom of the page.
Campus Map (the MB is at B-11).
Map to the Music Building.

More questions about the audition process? Be sure to visit the SMB audition FAQ page.

2013 SMB Peformance Schedule

Date	Opponent
Saturday, April 20		Green & White Spring Game Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
Saturday, August 31		Western Michigan Broncos Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
Saturday, September 7		USF Bulls Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
Saturday, September 14		Youngstown State Penguins Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
Saturday, September 21		at Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN
TBD		“SMB for KIDS” Benefit Concert for Sparrow Hospital (3:00 PM)
Saturday, xxxx		xxxx
Saturday, xxxx		Ohio State
TBD		Grand Ledge Invitational (Wednesday Evening)
Saturday, xxxx		at Indiana
Saturday, xxxx		Iowa
Saturday, xxxx		at Michigan (SMB Travel)
Saturday, xxxx		at Wisconsin
Saturday, xxxx		Spartan Spectacular (Wharton Center)
Saturday, xxxx		Nebraska
Saturday, xxxx		*** Bye ***
Saturday, xxxx		Northwestern
Saturday, xxxx		at Minnesota
Saturday, xxxx		Big Ten Championship

For more information, please contact Charlene Wagner.

If interested in this position, you must submit materials as follows.

Deadline: February 15, 2013

Please submit:

1. DVD of solo twirling performances. May be from field shows or indoor competition.

2. Cover letter, photo, and resume of twirling accomplishments.

Materials will be screened and candidates for the position will be invited to campus for an audition to be held on Saturday, May 11, 2013. Scholarship funding is available and candidate must be accepted to Michigan State University. Only select candidates will be invited to campus for the audition.

Questions: Contact Professor John Madden, Director, Spartan Marching Band. madden@msu.edu or 517-355-7654

Send materials to:

Professor John Madden
333 W. Circle Drive
MSU College of Music room 116
East Lansing, MI 48824

Note: You must be a regularly admitted freshman for fall 2013 in order to audition. Please visit www.admissions.msu.edu for more information about the application process to Michigan State University.

For more information, please visit the 2013 SMB audition page.

2013 Camp Dates
Camp I: July 8-10 – Drum Majors and Color Guard
Camp II: July 11-13 – Drum Majors and Percussion (snare / multi-tenor / bass)

MSU Performing Arts Camp page: http://pac.music.msu.edu/

Since 2000, the drumline has offered help sessions for those auditioning. These sessions are designed to help anyone auditioning for the MSU Drumline, but anyone is welcome to attend, regardless if he / she is auditioning this year or at all. Each person may come and go as he / she pleases – the sessions are to help you!

The 2013 help sessions will be held at Demonstration Hall weekly from 7:00 – 9:00 on posted Thursday nights beginning January 10; the time may change based on room availability. The schedule is available on the calendar at the MSU drumline website.

Please check often for any updates on the calendar. Visitors, please be aware that parking can be a challenge, especially on nights of MSU athletic events. Parking is generally free after 6:00 in many spots, but please check posted signs.

We will provide drums and cymbals. You should bring music (from the website) and sticks / mallets. Snares may wish to bring snare stands, and tenors may wish to bring drums depending on attendance, as we have 6 sets of tenors, but no extras.

Lessons are highly encouraged. If you would like suggestions for a teacher, please email Jon Weber at drumline@msu.edu.

The auditions and help sessions are held at Demonstration Hall. The percussion room is on the south end of the building off of Dem Hall Road.

Come join State of Art, Michigan State’s indoor Winter Guard at our third annual Spartan Spin-tastic! The all day color guard hands on experience will take place on Michigan State University’s campus in Demonstration Hall on Sunday, Dec. 16 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Participants will learn from world class instructors who have previously taught top level drum and bugle corps, winter guards and with the Tony award winning Broadway show, Blast!.

Class levels vary from beginning to advanced, providing an opportunity for all to learn new skills and have a great time. Participants can choose from a full range of technical classes in dance, flag and weapon along with supplemental classes in acting, show design and judging. The individual pre-registration fee is $25 and includes a free souvenir t-shirt. A group rate is available for ensembles that send ten or more members. General public is welcome with all registration done completely online.

To register visit http://www.stateofartwinterguard.com.

State of Art is Michigan State University’s indoor Winter Guard and a direct affiliate of the Spartan Marching Band. Though Winter Guard has existing at MSU since 1992, State of Art was officially organized in 2006. Since its inception, the ensemble has experienced competitive success on both the state and national level, including earning title of Winter Guard International Independent A World Championship in 2009. State of Art competes in the Michigan Color Guard Circuit as well as Winter Guard International. More information about the program can be found at http://www.stateofartwinterguard.com.

Freshman color guard Allie Rose practices her routine with the marching band on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. The marching band was preparing for this weekend’s upcoming game against Notre Dame. The band practiced a dupstep dance routine. Julia Nagy/The State News

Article reprinted with permission from the State News. The original can be found here.

Alexandria Rose hurled her magenta flag into the air and couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“It kind of gives me the whole feeling of being a Spartan, I guess,” the premedical freshman said.

Many agree the MSU Colorguard is an integral part of MSU’s band when it comes to animating football fans.

Through rigorous, five-days-a-week training sessions in front of Demonstration Hall, the colorguard aims to perfect a different, flag–twisting routine before each football game.

“It adds an extra visual element on the field,” said Hannah Walker, a colorguard member and apparel and textile design senior. “Somebody who doesn’t know anything about colorguard can know that, ‘Oh, there’s something pretty going around in the air (in unison).’ They can respect it regardless of their knowledge and background.”

According to Rose, MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio even brought some of his players to a colorguard preseason practice this year to tell the flag-bearers how much they “pep” the players up before games.

Rose joined her high school’s colorguard her sophomore year and hasn’t stopped since.

“Being a freshman, it’s kind of scary to commit to something with that much (time consumption) … but I have not had any regrets,” she said.

Section leader Ellen Crain said colorguard members have to know what they’re doing on the field.
“You have to know your drill, you have to know your work and you can’t be fazed by 80,000 people watching you,” Crain said.

Colorguard can range from 32 to 36 members after annual June tryouts.

For those passing by some of the practices and wondering about the magenta flags in place of green or white, Walker said they are solely for practice.

She said the larger game flags are: “pleated, and so it’s kind of a little bit more obvious if we’re not all together.”

Spartan pride and a mean workout aren’t the only perks to joining colorguard. Rose and Crain agree that everyone in the band — both colorguard and musicians ­— are some of the most friendly people on campus.

“It’s like 300 automatic friends,” Rose said.

Photo used with permission of the State News.

On August 18 the 2012 Spartan Marching Band kicked off the first day of Preseason, a concentrated 10-day camp that runs from 8:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. on most days, and encompasses the mastery of marching fundamentals, music, pregame drill, and much more. It is an occasion for veterans of the band to set the tone for an entire season of excellence, and for freshmen to learn and rise to new challenges. However, Preseason has truly a different meaning for every member of the SMB, making each member’s experience unique.

According to Rebecca Barann, a third-year veteran of the Mellophone Section, she is more than thrilled to be back with her “second family.”

“I look forward to Preseason all summer because it’s an opportunity to work with the most passionate and devoted group I know,” Barann said. “They have so much pride and respect for both the students of the university and every member of the band.”

Natalia Tortora, a fifth-year veteran and squad leader of the trumpets, added her own definition of the SMB. “The Spartan Marching Band is a family with talent and commitment,” Tortora said. “The members have the same passion and love for the university along with the honor of wearing the uniform.”

A typical Preseason day starts on the field at 8:30, with a morning run and review of marching fundamentals and drill. This is followed by music preparation, lunch, more marching, more running, more music, dinner, and then more marching and music, concluding at 9:00 p.m. From 9:00-11:00 p.m., freshmen learn how to march The Series, a cadence steeped in tradition and intensity. Each day is an achievement, moving one step closer to the beginning of the football season — something freshmen cannot wait for and veterans are eager to encounter once again.

Preseason is concluded one day before classes start with a full band photo, which symbolically enters this year’s Spartan Marching Band into history, and continuing the tradition of excellence and building upon the reputation of being one of the greatest college marching bands in the nation. It is with great enthusiasm and eagerness we await game day — an opportunity to entertain our fans and show them that our mission for perfection continues.

In its 41st year of production, Spartan Spectacular returns to Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall on Saturday, October 27, at 8:00 p.m.

Don’t miss this annual Spartan tradition, which will feature the MSU Symphony Band, Jazz Octet I, guest soloist Jon Weber, and OF COURSE the Spartan Marching Band! This year’s event will feature more than 400 MSU musicians and will be fun for the whole family. The event sells out every year! A special Band Fan pre-sale began on Wednesday, September 5 (click here to purchase your tickets online). Band Fans also receive a $1 discount off the regular ticket price.

Click here to purchase tickets online: http://whartoncenter.com/boxoffice/performance.aspx?pid=1309

If you prefer to purchase tickets via phone or in person, be sure to mention that you area Band Fan so you will receive the discount.